We encourage financial literacy and inclusion for women because this has positive impacts on various development indicator achievements, and formal finance institutions are expected to become more gender inclusive
Jakarta (ANTARA) - Gender Equality Deputy at the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Lenny N. Rosalin has urged formal finance institutions in Indonesia to become more gender inclusive.

In a press statement issued on Monday, she said that this will help expand women's access to financing.

“The COVID-19 pandemic has impacted women more than men, specifically women in industries such as restaurant, hotel, and domestic worker, as well as informal sectors such as MSMEs (Micro, Small, and Medium Enterprises)," she informed.

According to Rosalin, women workers have been affected more by the COVID-19 pandemic, which has led to a rise in gender inequality because of a reduction in women's workforce participation.

Access to financial services for women, specifically entrepreneurial women, would allow the general public to get out of the poverty pit, the deputy explained.

In addition, financial inclusion also contributes to a nation's financial stability as a whole.

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"We encourage financial literacy and inclusion for women because this has positive impacts on various development indicator achievements, and formal finance institutions are expected to become more gender inclusive," she said.

This also aligns with a policy issued by the government—the President Regulation No. 82 of 2016 on Inclusive Finance National Strategy (SNKI).

This strategy is aimed at promoting an inclusive, efficient, and stable finance system to drive economic growth and reduce poverty as well as the gap between cities and regions to support collective prosperity.

The national strategy has included women as one of the target groups, however, the strategy has not specified a special intervention for women in detail, Rosalin explained.

"For instance, intervention that considers gender inequality and factors that inhibit women to access and receive the benefit of various finance products and services," she said.

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Translator: Anita Permata D, Fadhli Ruhman
Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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