This stocktake was designed to determine the extent to which capacity for effective gender mainstreaming exists in national governments, and to identify potential areas of strategic intervention to strengthen such capacity. It is an initiative of the Secretariat of the Pacific Community (SPC), in collaboration with national governments and with support from the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the UN Development Fund for Women (UNIFEM).1 It is being carried out in phases throughout the Pacific region in response to a call from Pacific island ministries responsible for gender equality and the advancement of women for support to strengthen the institutional capacity of governments to meet their stated commitments to gender equality.