From Matangi Tonga Magazine, Vol. 15, no. 4, January 2001.

While there were apparently equal job opportunities for women in Tonga, women still remained under-represented at the highest levels of government.

This was noted by Dr ‘Atu Emberson-Bain in a country briefing paper on “Women in Tonga”, she wrote for the Asian Development Bank in December 1998.

Although a few women occupied positions of seniority in the Civil Service, men overwhelmingly dominated representation on government committees and statutory boards. Most key organizations had no women members at all. “Only a few venture to include a token woman and invariably this is a woman of high rank,” she said.

However, “in principal, the human resource management policies of the government are non-discriminatory and there is equality of employment opportunities,” she reported. In 1998 women comprised about 46 per cent of the Civil List. Some 20 of the 31 senior officers in the Prime Minister’s Office were women, and 15 out of the 22 officers in the Central Planning Department. There were also six women lawyers working in the Crown Law Department, a female Registrar of the Supreme Court, and 10 women doctors.

But in the most senior level women were out-numbered one to 22 in the Level one position, and in Level 2 women did slightly better at eight to 34. “Promotion prospects beyond a certain point can be poor even for women who have gained many years experience.” The reasons for this, “include an apparent reluctance on the part of women themselves to apply for senior positions,” she said.

Political office

When considering the rights of women to stand for political office it can be seen that the  Legislative Assembly consists of the (all-male) Cabinet, seven elected members of the (all-male) hereditary nobles, and nine representatives of the people.

“Women can contest the nine seats available to the People’s Representatives but women contestants have to face (and overcome) the additional obstacle of a political culture that tags all decision-making, authority and political power as male prerogatives, For the handful of women willing to challenge this tradition, the task is made more difficult because of the extent to which women themselves have internalised this norm,” she reported.

“Such is the degree of apparent acceptance, at least on the part of elite or influential women, that the lack of women’s political representation is usually not depicted as evidence of political discrimination or subordinate status. Rather it is justified by reference to the lack of effort by women themselves, or ironically, to the ‘highly respected status’ of Tongan women. In this way, women are paradoxically being done  ‘a favour’ by their exclusion from political office since this would be ‘disrespectful’ to them,” said Dr Emberson-Bain.