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A group of nearly 30 representatives from government, the private sector, civil society and development partners gathered in Suva, Fiji on Friday 10 November for a workshop to review and validate the PSDI gender-inclusive private sector enabling environment framework assessment for Fiji. The workshop was hosted by PSDI and the Asian Development Bank.

PSDI presented background on the processes followed to determine the assessment, and how Fiji performed against all criteria in the PSDI-developed framework, which measures the gender inclusivity of the private sector enabling environment in the Pacific across seven dimensions:

1. Gender equality context
2. Workplace environment
3. Business enabling environment
4. Financial inclusion and access to capital
5. Participation in key economic sectors
6. Technology and the future of work
7. Leadership, voice and the promotion of consumer rights

The group then discussed their thoughts on whether the PSDI assessment reflected the current legislative and policy environment supporting private sector development in Fiji, and discussed reform opportunities, priorities, and possible next steps for the Government of Fiji. 

At the end of the workshop, participants were asked to identify the most critical dimension for reform to support a more inclusive private sector enabling environment. The workplace environment and business enabling environment ranked as the top two. Based on the draft assessment, participants suggested better coordination across government ministries operating similar programs to support women’s economic empowerment; the establishment of a centralized database for MSME data; and creating more awareness of current legislation and greater focus on implementation and monitoring as priorities reforms.

The process to develop the framework and checklist encompassed an extensive literature review and consultations with stakeholders to assess existing frameworks, determine how they may or may not apply in the Pacific, and ascertain whether data are available to support the measurement of a gender inclusive enabling environment. The workshop in Fiji was the third in a series of workshops and presentations that PSDI is now holding to discuss and validate its findings for individual countries.

Keep an eye out for PSDI’s gender inclusive private sector enabling environment framework, which will be published in 2024. 

Photos courtesy of Beatrice Olssen, Asian Development Bank.