A new draft study into matrilineal society in the Marshall Islands is about to be completed and released.
Researcher Tina Stege studied women's access to land or inheritance of land and their management of land.
The study took place in the capital Majuro and on a small outer atoll, Namdrik.
She says among her findings was that women seem to have remained very influential in decision making.
"And what I found, and this is generally across the board for both Majuro and Namdrik, is that women were very much part of the everyday management of land. And that they found themselves to be very strong in their positions. And that they were listened to generally. In general I found them to be very active and very strong."
Ms Stege's study is part of a wider regional matrilineal study being coordinated by the University of the South Pacific's Institute of Pacific Studies.
