Indigenous women living across the Pacific Ocean region have long been keepers of their culture and stewards of natural resources in their communities.

Many Indigenous women who work in grassroots, community-oriented roles rather than professionally tracked positions, do important work that goes unrecognized and underreported in corporate and non-profit settings.

For those who do work in academically trained roles, caregiving responsibilities, hiring biases, and pay inequities contribute to gaps in career advancement - leading to a social phenomenon called “the leaky pipeline”.

These issues lead to invisibility and underrepresentation in their contributions - creating limited funding opportunities, leadership support, and access to resources.

This needs to change.