In commemoration of International Women's Day, let us smash old beliefs that limit women's movement in public through their real action in development.
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Minister Bintang Puspayoga has said that her ministry is striving to encourage the private sector to promote gender equality in the working world.

This is being done through a G20 working group, namely G20 Empower, she informed in a press statement issued on Thursday.

One way to promote gender equality is by requesting C-level executives to promote women leaders and economic development through practices that can be replicated, whether nationally or in G20 countries, she informed.

The effort to involve the private sector is to support the acceleration of gender equality in Indonesia amid the momentum afforded by International Women's Day, she said.

"In commemoration of International Women's Day, let us smash old beliefs that limit women's movement in public through their real action in development," the minister remarked.

"Let us collaborate and stare at a single goal together, namely an equal world and prosperity for all," she said.

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Data still shows that a gender gap exists in various aspects, starting from access, participation, control, and benefit from development resources, Puspayoga highlighted.

Women also still experience stigmatization, discrimination, subordination, marginalization, and even violence, she noted.

"This has been exacerbated by the presence of the COVID-19 pandemic," she remarked.

According to Statistics Indonesia's (BPS') data in 2021, women's Workforce Participation Level (TPAK) stood at 54.03 percent, while it was pegged at 82.14 percent for men, she noted.

In addition, the data shows that the proportion of women holding managerial positions reached 33.08 percent in 2020, she said.

Moreover, according to a survey by the International Labour Organization (ILO) in 2020, the proportion of women holding the post of chief executive officers (CEOs) in Indonesia was 15 percent, she informed.

"Amid these various failings, we need to realize that women are actually a nation's human resource strength. According to the 2020 census result, women constitute almost half of the Indonesian population," the minister noted.

She said her ministry has been carrying out various efforts to bolster women’s empowerment in the economic sector.

"One of them is providing entrepreneurial training to vulnerable women, which are pre-prosperous women, women family heads, and also women survivors of disaster and violence," she explained.
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Translator: Anita Permata D, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Suharto
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