To address this issue, venture capital companies (VC) and technology startup investment pioneers in all sectors (sector-agnostic) in Indonesia, East Ventures, organized a forum titled 'Women as Active Agents,’ focusing on women’s empowerment.
Five keynote speakers from various industries, such as venture capital, technology startups, and social enterprises, were invited to the forum.
At the forum, Melisa Irene, a partner of East Ventures, highlighted the low representation of female partners in the venture capital industry.
"We acknowledge this situation in the venture capital industry, and we are continuously working toward improvement. We strongly believe that women bring diverse perspectives to the industry, and East Ventures is committed to taking this seriously through our practices and support within the ecosystem," Irene said, according to a press release that ANTARA quoted on Thursday.
General Partner, Vertex Ventures SE Asia and India, Carmen Yuen, provided another perspective from the same industry.
She stressed the importance of society not limiting men's and women's roles to certain industries because everyone can contribute to an industry regardless of their gender.
For example, the female founders from Vertex Ventures are working in various leading industries, such as manufacturing, fintech, blockchain, agritech, and more. Some of these are often considered male-dominated industries.
Similar was the case with the co-founder and chief sustainability officer of Aruna, Utari Octavianty, when she was about to dabble in the fishing industry.
There was a perception of the fishing industry being a male-oriented industry, and not suitable for Octavianty as a woman. This notion did not only appear in society but was also rooted deep in her family.
However, following her involvement in the fishing industry, she has proven that the fishing industry is an industry that is open to all genders, and everyone can contribute to its improvement regardless of gender.
The pandemic has raised a good amount of awareness and understanding of health. However, Nalagenetics CEO Levana Sani pointed to women's low involvement in the sector, an issue contributed by inadequate gender involvement and equality in the healthcare industry,
For example, clinical trials generally involve only a representation of healthy white men. This has led to a higher likelihood of adverse drug reactions in women.
The CEO of Liberty Society, Tamara Wu, offered a broader perspective by relating the story of the founding of the Liberty Society, a social enterprise that empowers women affected by violence and extreme poverty to break out of the cycle of poverty and hopelessness.
She said that women are still vulnerable in society due to the lack of education and economic status.
Education as the main foundation
So far, gender-based prejudice has hindered women’s progress and equal status. Thus, it is very important for the community to move together to improve this.
This can be initiated through access to education, which is the main foundation for solving cross-industry problems, as proper education can broaden perspectives and help people understand the importance of gender equality.
In addition, education can also equip every individual with the ability to empower themselves to achieve economic and social stability.
People also need to understand that sometimes, the education system is not created for everyone, especially adults.
It is very important to provide education that meets their needs and situation, which in turn would offer tangible profits to them and society.
For example, Aruna conducts training to empower fishermen's wives so they can sort fish based on quality and size. The training helps women to support their own or even their families’ economy.
We are used to doing things as they have been done before, and it makes us forget to look at things from a different perspective.
A system that has been created and adhered to for a long time may not be appropriate for the current era; however, unfortunately, we are still following the old paradigms without questioning their suitability to today’s context.
We often find regulations made without gender aspects taken into consideration, and in many cases, it impacts women in an unfavorable way. It is unfortunate that society is still not fully aware of women's contribution, although women make most of the purchasing decisions in households, and care for their children and families.
Policy makers, regardless of institution, industry, and size, should start to consider women's role in making decisions. Not only do women bring broader perspectives, they also provide more opportunities for everyone to gather brilliant ideas that might not otherwise exist should people be blinded by gender prejudice.
We must push for better engagement and make it easier for everyone to get involved in the industry, the workplace, or even encourage people to return to activity after a period of rest, regardless of the reasons.
Without realizing it, society also often ignores the fact that we are facing global issues together. There are so many possibilities that could be taken advantage of were everyone to understand their respective roles in supporting each other and be willing to do more to improve.
For example, Tamara believes that in making the world a better place, encouragement must come as a joint effort from both parties: the customer and the company.
Companies must also start creating more strategic Corporate Sustainable Responsibility (CSR) activities that will have long-term effects. CSR activities must provide communities with the ability, skills, and knowledge to empower themselves, so that everyone has the ability to create a positive impact by and for themselves.
In addition, sustainability efforts must adhere to the 3P principles: People, Planet, and Profit. One way to empower people is ensuring equality in daily practice, regardless of gender. To care for our planet, we must be responsible and careful in our daily actions that may unknowingly have an adverse impact on the Earth.
The last principle is profit, which provides resources to all parties to bring about impactful action for society.
The way to sustainable development has already begun, and it is a long journey that we can achieve if everyone understands its urgency, have the will to make progress, even if it is slow, and cooperate.
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Editor: Rahmad Nasution
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