The Fiji Women’s Fund (the Fund) is an initiative of the Australian Government’s Pacific Women Shaping Pacific Development (Pacific Women) Program. The Fund has committed AU$10.5 million from 2017 to 2022 for funding and capacity development support to women’s groups, networks, and organisations in Fiji to expand and enhance their work on women’s empowerment and gender equality.
The aim of the Fund is to become an independently funded and managed women’s fund by the end of 2022, and it seeks the following outcomes:
Women’s groups, organisations, or networks supported by the Fund are empowered and have the capacity (knowledge, skills, resources and relationships) to contribute to transformative change that improves women’s lives.
Women’s groups, organisations, or networks supported by the Fund are having influence at different levels (individual / systemic and formal / informal) and are contributing to transformative change in women’s lives.
The Fund has transitioned to an independent local entity and has secured funding from donors, private sector, and local philanthropy.
The Fund works towards reaching women living in rural and remote locations and those who are marginalised, including women with disabilities and those facing discrimination based on their sexual orientation or gender identity. The Fund complements Fiji’s National Development Plan and contributes to the Fiji National Women’s Plan of Action and the National Gender Policy, the Beijing Platform for Action, Pacific Leaders’ Gender Equality Declaration (2012) and Sustainable Development Goals 2030.
Delivery Approach
The Fund has two mechanisms for reaching remote, rural and other marginalised women. The first mechanism is through larger partnerships with organisations that work in rural and remote areas, or support networks of otherwise hard to reach women. These organisations may provide direct services or act as intermediaries for re-granting or capacity development assistance. The second mechanism is direct financial and non-financial assistance from the Fund to women’s groups, networks and organisations of various sizes.
The Fund’s delivery approach is guided by the following key principles:
• flexible, responsive and accessible in supporting women’s groups, networks and organisations;
• influence and encourage transformative shifts in existing power structures to contribute towards gender equality and women’s empowerment;
• foster collective action and movement building of women’s groups, networks and organisations;
• promote and practice action reflection and participatory learning processes; and
• promote and practice accountability, transparency, inclusiveness and local ownership.
