How do we address gender-inequitable economy?

Sociologist Sylvia Walby defines patriarchy as “a system of social structures and practices in which men dominate, oppress, and exploit women”. Moreover, patriarchy has been an eight-thousand-year-long affirmative action program for men (Kaufman, 2019). As far as we know, addressing women’s issues in developing countries with strong patriarchal culture presents significant challenges. Therefore, to advance workplace equality, it is crucial to identify at least five obstacles women typically encounter.

First, women’s skills are often undervalued compared to men’s. Second, there is a sexist bias reflected in the vocabularies used by those around women. Third, societal assumptions often prioritize women’s roles only as mothers over their professional qualifications. Fourth, the lack of family-friendly workplace policies. Finally fifth, domestic violence and its consequences also play a role.

Before going further, let me set the scene. As a context, Indonesia is committed to implement the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) to “leave no one behind” by 2030. This pledge was restated by Indonesian President Mr. Joko Widodo during the G20 Summit in 2022. The president emphasized the importance of strengthening global partnerships across all addressed issues to achieve the SDGs. For this reason, the equal participation of male and female leaders becomes important.

Conversely, my experiences in the workforce reported the stark reality of this under-representation. I am grateful to enjoy certain invisible privileges as a woman who engage actively in the socio-political sphere. However, I still question: “How effective is my contribution in reducing poverty to promote the health, education, protection and the well-being by advancing gender equality as fundamental human right?”. This is also substantiated by the data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) which revealed that the proportion of women in managerial positions in Indonesia in both 2021 and 2022 is approximately still only 32%.

Additionally, a study by the McKinsey Global Institute indicates that raising women’s workforce participation by 3% worldwide could add $135 billion to Indonesia’s economy by 2025. It shows that increasing women’s participation in the workforce has a tangible impact on the economic growth. Within a short time, I want to be a part of it as Indonesian woman leader who strengthen the ecosystem for other women in the workforce by creating inclusive workplace policies.

Along with it, I realized that expanding my own knowledge and skills as a woman is essential to address aforementioned challenges effectively. As a consequence, I have been strenuously working to address my knowledge gaps through pursuing this SDGs leader certification in 2024 which was held by National Development Planning Agency (Badan Perencanaan Pembangunan Nasional/BAPPENAS), United Nations Development Programme (UNDP), and Tanoto Foundation through the SDG Academy Indonesia.

In short, leveraging the knowledge and network from this certification will not only align with my experience but also harmonize with my goal to contribute in empowering other women, fostering a more equitable society and economy in Indonesia. With these efforts, I hope women can support each other in unlocking the full potential of female entrepreneurship, driving innovation, economic growth, and social progress, ultimately making the gender-inequitable economy a thing of the past.