The phenomenon is considered related to the patriarchal culture that is still widely practiced in society, which associates women’s role with domestic work.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - The labor force participation rate (TPAK) of female workers has remained below that of male workers due to the influence of the patriarchal culture, Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah has said.

During a virtual discussion, held by PLN Peduli, on gender shaming in the workplace on Wednesday, she said that out of the total workforce of around 140 million people in Indonesia, women only make up about 40 percent.

According to the data from the ministry, as of August 2021, female workers’ TPAK was 53.34 percent, while the TPAK of male workers was 82.27 percent.

Female workers’ workforce participation rate in 2021 increased slightly compared to 2020, when it was recorded at 53.13 percent, she said. The rate stood at 51.81 percent in 2019, she added.

Furthermore, the minister noted that the participation of Indonesian women in work is still lower than in some neighboring countries, such as Vietnam and Thailand.

"The phenomenon is considered related to the patriarchal culture that is still widely practiced in society, which associates women’s role with domestic work," she remarked.

The inequality is also reflected in the level of education, she said.

As of February 2021, 55.80 percent of female workers had graduated from junior high school or lower, while the number of male workers who had graduated from the same education level reached just 53.92 percent.

Meanwhile, the percentage of female workers who had senior high school education level was 27.86 percent, while male workers who had the same education level was 35.27 percent, she informed.

"One of the evidences of discrimination against women in the workplace is the difference in wages. It is found that that the average wage for female laborers from all levels of education and age groups is still far below the wage of male laborers," Fauziyah said.

However, she noted that there was still an encouraging finding about women’s employment. As of August 2021, the open unemployment rate among women was 6.11 percent, while for men, it was 6.74 percent, she said.





Translator: Prisca Violleta, Uyu Liman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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