Gender Research in the Pacific 1994-2014: Beginnings

This study deals with research on eight critical areas of concern covered in the Revised Pacific Platform for Action 2005-2015: education, health, climate change and environment, economic empowerment, gender mainstreaming, leadership and decision-making, violence against women and human rights.

While gender research on each issue exists in one way or another in the Pacific, there are many unknowns as to the scope, nature, and quality of this research. This study therefore:

- Maps and provides a gap analysis of existing gender research in the eight thematic areas.

- Assesses each piece of research’s quality, reliability and usefulness.

- provides recommendations relating to capacity building on gender research in the Pacific.

The study created a bibliography of over 400 citations, an annotated bibliography of 135 pieces of research and a literature review of the eight areas of concern. A review of the research, together with information gathered through the survey and interviews, formed the basis for the assessment of research gaps, quality, reliability, and usefulness.