Too many men in Pacific workers' program

Almost 90 per cent of the 3000 seasonal workers who come to Australia from Pacific nations to fill labour shortages in the horticulture sector are male.

A federal parliamentary inquiry has recommended a special program mandate a gender balance because women were largely missing out on the earning opportunity despite performing the greatest proportion of agricultural and home gardening work in their home countries.

It was one of 37 recommendations made by a committee examining the role of the private sector in promoting economic growth and reducing poverty in the Indo-Pacific region.