Thinking Audaciously, Speaking Plainly: Pacific Women Reimagine Gender Equality Research

The co-authors of a Pacific gender equality analysis share how their labor of love came to life, challenging norms of credible research, in Pacific Women Lead’s inaugural quarterly webinar.

The Pacific Women Lead Formative Situational Analysis challenges conventional ideas of credible gender equality research. I recently had the opportunity to speak with the women behind this research - ‘Ofa Guttenbeil-Likiliki, Virisila Buadromo, Niketa Kulkarni, and Nikki Bartlett - and listened to their reflections on what makes this work a welcome departure from the norm.

“As Dr Yvonne Underhill-Sem says, this process requires us to think audaciously, think outside the box, and look at other ways, other alternatives, of collecting the stories of our women.”

‘Ofa Guttenbeil-Likiliki

This research breaks from the standard donor-driven baseline report, weaving the voices of Pacific women throughout its pages, applying a two-pronged methodology - documentary research and stakeholder consultation - and centering Pacific methodologies and methods like talatalanoa, as used by co-author ‘Ofa. This makes for a promising foundation as a reference for Pacific Women Lead’s ongoing efforts in gende…