Samoa Leads in Women in Business Leadership—PSDI 

Sydney, Australia – 02 August 2024 – The proportion of women in business leadership in Samoa is well above the global and regional average, according to a new report published 01 August by the Asian Development Bank’s (ADB’s) Pacific Private Sector Development Initiative (PSDI).

Leadership Matters 2024: Benchmarking Women in Business Leadership in the Pacific expands on the baseline established in the 2021 Leadership Matters report to track advancements in women’s representation as board directors, board chairs, deputy board chairs, and chief executive officers across 14 Pacific countries.

“The new Leadership Matters report finds that women’s representation in business leadership in Samoa has generally risen since 2021 and continues to exceed Pacific regional averages in all measures,” said the report’s author, PSDI Economic Empowerment of Women Expert, Sarah Boxall.

“This strong growth of women in business leadership in Samoa, particularly at the chief executive officer (CEO) level, points to an increasingly more inclusive and diverse corporate culture driven by a mix of organizational policies, greater family and community support for women’s leadership aspirations, and a cohort of talented and ambitious women who are rising through the ranks and supporting others to do the same.”

According to the report, the average proportion of women directors in the Pacific rose from 21% in 2021 to 26% in 2024, just above the 2023 global average of 23%. During the same period, the average proportion of women CEOs in the Pacific rose from 13% to 20%, well above the global average of 6%. The representation of women also grew in Samoa, where the proportion of women directors rose from 33% to 36% and the proportion of women CEOs rose from 25% to 45%.

Higher proportion of Women Directors & CEOs
Samoa, alongside the Cook Islands, Kiribati, and Tuvalu, stands out as having higher proportions of women directors and CEOs than most countries in the region, while Fiji and Papua New Guinea are the only countries in the region to not meet or exceed the regional average on any measure.

“A myriad of global and local influences and social norms continue to shape Pacific women’s aspirations and opportunities for leadership, and entrenched gender roles, particularly those around caring responsibilities, remain a significant challenge,” said Ms Boxall.

“While we celebrate these improvements, many of the gains since 2021 have been modest and have been uneven across countries, sectors, and organization types.”

“We must also recognize the persistent gender disparities these figures reveal and continue to strive for equal representation in leadership, both globally and in the Pacific.”

While Samoa is a leader in the representation of women in business leadership, men hold around two out of every three director positions and 16% of boards still have no women directors.

The report draws on data from 397 organizations across ADB’s 14 Pacific developing member countries (DMCs), as well as insights from more than 350 Pacific business leaders, gathered through a survey and in-depth interviews.

PSDI is an ADB technical assistance program undertaken in partnership with the governments of Australia and New Zealand. It supports ADB’s 14 Pacific DMCs to improve the enabling environment for business and to achieve inclusive, private sector-led economic growth, including through reforms designed to enhance the economic empowerment of women.