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The media space in the Pacific remains unequal, says international lawyer and arbitrator Ana Tuiketei.

Women, she states, are often excluded from leadership, earning less than men for equal work and bearing the brunt of abuse that continues to silence and sideline them.

While speaking at the inaugural Pacific Women in Media Conference in Suva, Tuiketei highlighted that the global gender pay gap remained at 20 percent.

She cited projections from the International Labour Organization that gender pay parity would not be achieved until 2086 if the current pace continued.

She said the issue was reflected in Fiji and across the Pacific, where female journalists were still being paid less than their male counterparts despite doing work of equal value.

Tuiketei noted that under Fijian law, equal pay for equal value of work was required, yet media companies had failed to enforce this principle consistently.

She pointed out that women were often assigned to lifestyle or cultural reporting, while men dominated politics, business, and investigative journalism roles that were more likely to be rewarded and recognized.

“Triggers that happen or the impacts that happen to them when they’re being harassed. It affects their productivity, it affects their mental health, and it affects their home because they do not come to work, and therefore they cannot earn. A lot of them have had to self-regulate and self-censor.”

Tuiketei added that this assignment pattern not only undervalued women’s work but also contributed to pay disparity.

She also said there were not enough women in senior decision-making roles.
In Fiji, only 16 of the 63 women journalists in the country held managerial positions.
She described the imbalance as both a structural and cultural issue that continued to restrict the progress of women in the industry.

Tuiketei further raised concern about the increasing levels of online and physical harassment faced by women in media.

Referring to a 2021 UNESCO report, she said two out of three women journalists globally had experienced harassment online or in person, and Pacific women were no exception.

She said some women had been forced to self-censor, deactivate their social media accounts, take time off work, or leave the industry entirely due to abuse. Others had needed medical or psychological support to cope with the trauma. She added that the abuse was often delivered in vernacular language and local slang, making it more difficult to monitor and address.

Tuiketei emphasized that a safe workplace, both physically and digitally, was a human right.

She called for media companies to implement clear workplace protocols and for the Online Safety Commission to strengthen its role in protecting women on digital platforms.

Meanwhile, Pacific Women in Media PNG regional representative Rebecca Marigu said the conference had been a powerful moment for women across the region. She said walking into the room and seeing the diversity of women represented had been emotional.

Marigu, who ran a media consultancy from an offshore island outside Port Moresby, said the conference gave women the opportunity to share their lived experiences, discuss solutions, and build stronger networks.

The conference continues this morning at the Grand Pacific Hotel.

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