Climate Change Impact and Structural Reforms in Kiribati

Papua New Guinea Solomon Islands Vanuatu Kiribati Palau Tonga Micronesia Samoa Nauru Tuvalu chart). Women are under-represented in managerial positions, holding only 37.2 percent of these positions in 2020. Similarly, women held only 6.5 percent of seats in the National Parliament in 2020. The numbers make Kiribati rank fourth and sixth respectively on share of women holding managerial positions and seats in the Parliament out of 11 countries in the Pacific (ADB, 2021). Figure 1. Kiribati: Gender Comparison in Labor Outcomes Gender Difference in Labor Force Participation Rate (In percentage point, 2020 or latest available data) 50 40 30 20 10 0 Gender Difference in Unemployment Rate by Country (In percentage point, 2020 or latest available data) 15 10 5 0 Marshall Islands Fiji -5 Sources: World Development Indicators; 2020 Kiribati Census; and IMF staff calculation. Sources: World Development Indicators; 2020 Kiribati Census; and IMF staff calculations. Notes: Gender difference is measured as difference between female unemployment rate and male unemployment rate. Marshall Islands Tonga Vanuatu 3. Women in Kiribati are more vulnerable to poverty than men, which could have been further worsened by COVID-19. According to the 2019-2020 Kiribati Household Income and Expenditure Survey (KNSO 2021), female-head households earned just half of what male-head households earned in terms of average per capita income (Table 1). As a result, male-head households have higher per capita expenditure and higher savings-57 percent and 13 percent higher in terms of annual expenditure per capita and total savings, respectively—than female-head households. It is also reported that one in four female-head households is in the poorest quintile in South Tarawa and the rural Gilbert Islands (AusAID, 2012). The situation is expected to have been worsened during COVID-19 as the pandemic affected women disproportionately. Female labor could have been possibly adversely affected as a large proportion of women are working in the service sector, especially in retail sales (Figure 1, right panel). 5 In addition, female-owned/led businesses were more negatively affected than male-owned businesses during the pandemic. According to Pacific Trade Investment (2020), 71 percent of female-owned businesses reported having experienced a very negative effect (compared to 57 percent of male-owned businesses) and 41 percent had to be temporarily closed (compared to 29 percent of male-owned businesses). 4 A high concentration of male labor in agriculture and fisheries could be a result of both the nature of fishery work which requires physical strength with (to a less extent) lower education levels. This gender distribution in sectors also explains why female have slightly higher formal rate than male. However, higher formality among women does not necessarily lead to higher income (Table 1) as fisheries also include a small proportion of high-earning seafaring jobs which is dominated by men (MWYSSA, 2018). More data on income by gender is required for better understanding and assessment. 5 While there is no data on the impact of COIVID-19 on female labor force participation in Kiribati due to limited data capacity, similar incidences were seen in other countries including both advanced and emerging markets (Bluedorn et. al, 2021). INTERNATIONAL MONETARY FUND 33 Fiji Kiribati Palau Nauru Micronesia Tuvalu KIRIBATI

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