Society should strive to have the playing field level between women and men to not be too far different so that women can also continue their career
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Society must reduce women's career hurdles by not obliging them to leave their jobs to become mothers, Minister of Finance Sri Mulyani Indrawati said at the 2022 Women Leaders Forum webinar on Tuesday.

"Women leaders such as myself are an exception, not the norm. This is what we may have to change together," she remarked.

This change can be achieved by creating workspaces that allow women to carry out their professional duties while also parenting children, the minister said.

According to Indrawati, career women can make a positive contribution to an organization by making more diverse decisions, which can lead to better decision-making.

She said she is striving to ensure her ministry has the same number of women and men officials in the first echelon.

Currently, the number of freshly graduated men and women at the ministry is equal; however, the number of women employees tends to dip at the higher levels, she noted.

"In the academic level, women do not encounter any trouble. In fact, they are even better than men in academic achievement," the minister remarked.

"As soon as they enter the period where they have to choose between a career and a family, there lies the inequality between women and men," she said.

Meanwhile, men do not have to face the same obligation to choose as women because they are considered to be the ones that are supposed to provide for their family, she noted.

"Society should strive to have the playing field level between women and men to not be too far different so that women can also continue their career," she stressed.

The minister also highlighted a number of issues and challenges for leaders and women, in general, such as the fact that women are underestimated because of their gender.

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Translator: Sanya Dinda S, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Sri Haryati
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