Fijian Holdings Limited Chief Executive Officer Nouzab Fareed says it is a shame that only 17% of board members in Fiji are women.

Fareed highlighted this at a panel discussion during the Women in Business International Women’s Day Celebration at GPH.

He says women need to be bold and they need to step up to these roles.

Similar sentiments were shared by the other panelists who believe that women need to step up to executive roles.

Other panelists included FNPF CEO Jaoji Koroi, the Country Head of ANZ Fiji Saud Minam, Westpac Chief Executive Kip Hanna and Lawyer Devanesh Sharma.

Meanwhile Minister for Women Mereseini Vuniwaqa highlighted at the celebrations that men must step up and share the workload of women in the unpaid care economy, which in a stereotype world tells us that it is women’s work.

She says men occupy most seats in the board room as they take up positions from CEO, managerial positions, advisory councils positions, village head man positions, Permanent Secretary positions, Ministerial positions and in parliament but the numbers are growing in Parliament.

She says it is critical that the male voice that advocates for gender parity is the voice that is gender sensitized, a voice that understands gender inequality through the experiences of women and a voice that accepts that women have not been dealt a fair hand historically.