Meet Jacqui Joseph, Chief Executive Officer & Co-Founder of Equal Playing Field, an NGO working  to prevent gender-based violence. Joseph is another Papua New Guinean under 40 making a difference in the community.

Equal Playing Field’s Jacqui Joseph. Credit: Godfreeman Kaptigau

What is Equal Playing Field?

It’s an NGO devoted to preventing gender-based violence. My work has a big focus on promoting gender equality and respectful relationships. This in turn improves livelihoods in the community.

Good relationships and social cohesion in the community underpin economic growth. When there is a high level of criminal activity, there is a lot of violence.

What is your career mantra?

I want nothing more than to look back on my life and say ‘I did all I could to make a difference in the world’.

‘There are moments in my life where I hear stories of corruption or see partnerships that are not what they’re made out to be, so it’s easy to feel that I no longer want to be part of this space.’

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What motivates you?

There are moments in my life where I hear stories of corruption or see partnerships that are not what they’re made out to be, so it’s easy to feel that I no longer want to be part of this space. But I try to turn those stories into something positive. I try to understand that those stories are the reason I must keep going. We think often that once we hear the good stories, that’s where we’ll find our strength, but sometimes it’s those not-so-good stories that give you that strength.

How have your parents influenced your work?

Growing up in a Christian home (in Buin and Siwai in Bougainville) the values instilled in me by my parents – such as respect for others, using your manners and acting out of love instead of duty – are what keep me going.

What is something most people don’t know about you?

For my career, I have travelled to 50 cities in 21 countries. But I am only two per cent well-travelled. I would like to push it up to 20 per cent well-travelled (laughs).

This is an excerpt from the article ‘Executive class’, which first published in the October-December 2022 edition of PNG Now, Papua New Guinea’s leading lifestyle magazine. Read the emag version here.