Markets and Women’s Market Trading in the Pacific Islands

Abstract

This article juxtaposes a comprehensive overview of interdisciplinary research on Pacific Island market traders, the vast majority of whom are women, with ethnographic research carried out by the author in Fiji’s Suva Municipal Market. Markets, whether centrally organized by a government body or ad hoc in nature, provide a critical source of income for women throughout the Pacific Island region. Yet like their counterparts in Asia and Sub-Saharan Africa, governments and policymakers alike routinely ignore the substantial contributions women market traders make to local and national economies. Information presented provides a general overview of the nature and extent of market trade in the Pacific Islands, including common varieties of markets and their structures and commodity chains. Analysis that follows covers the social context of market trade in the Pacific, including the historical roles of markets, the impact of dramatic shifts from customary to capitalist exchange, and the myriad of social roles filled by markets. Challenges faced by Pacific women traders are also discussed, particularly infrastructural and organizational obstacles, risks to health and safety, demands from kin for financial or in-kind support, and cultural beliefs about gender. The article concludes with research-based recommendations for improving markets, including the recognition of markets as significant sources of revenue, acknowledging women market traders as businesspeople, investment in infrastructural improvements to markets, and more active promotion of agricultural production and marketing by Pacific Island governments.