Gender inequality is a widespread and persistent problem in Pacific Island countries, yet total donor investments to address gender equality in the region fall below the global average.

This Data Snapshot uses the Lowy Institute’s Pacific Aid Map to examine trends and development implications in Pacific gender equality financing between 2008 and 2021 (the most recent data available on the Pacific Aid Map).

The data show donors to the Pacific have been collectively less focused on gender equality than in other regions. This is set to change, given ambitious Australian targets, but it remains clear that more money is not the only answer.

Evaluations of gender equality investment in the Pacific have crystalised this fact. And with results slow to bare, questions have inevitably arisen about the effectiveness of aid allocations.

A more complete and comprehensive view of gender equality financing can provide some answers to those questions. And data about the objectives underpinning financial flows into the Pacific — currently underdone — is an important piece of the puzzle for policymakers seeking to make change for women.