IB2017/4 Unequal Work Burdens: Challenges to Women's Economic Empowerment in Solomon Islands

Despite women’s economic empowerment now being considered an essential component of development programming, in many parts of the world empowerment has not assured improvement in women’s wellbeing. Rather, it has often brought increased costs to women (Hunt and Samman 2016:7). This In Brief reports on qualitative research in Solomon Islands, as part of the Do No Harm project.1 The research sought to capture the experiences of women by encouraging respondents to tell stories of their life, particularly their married life, allowing rich case studies to be developed and women’s voices to be heard.