"Data showed that women's leadership in the public sector is still very lacking," she stated through written opening remarks read at the International Women's Day Seminar titled "Jointly Protect Women, Realize Gender Equality" followed online on Wednesday.
The minister's opening remarks were read by her Expert Staff for Poverty Handling Titi Eko Rahayu.
She noted that equal leadership representation of women in the public sector is one of the important factors in realizing gender equality.
Puspayoga noted that based on data from the Center for Political Studies of the University of Indonesia (UI), the number of women holding seats in the House of Representatives (DPR) as of January 2021 only stood at 21.39 percent, or 125 people out of the total of 575.
The percentage of women in the Regional Representative Council (DPD) reached 30.88 percent. Meanwhile, the average representation of women in the 34 Regional People's Representative Councils (DPRD) at the provincial level only reached 17.5 percent.
"For DPRD at the district and city levels, there are 21 district and city DPRD that do not have women's representation," she stated.
Likewise, the percentage of women regional leaders as of 2019 had only reached 9.06 percent from a total of 342 regional leaders.
International Women's Day, commemorated every March 8, is aimed at recognizing the achievements of women around the world in the social, economic, cultural, and political fields, as well as raising people's awareness of the importance of gender equality.
According to the minister, the same chances or opportunities are no longer adequate to realize gender equality. Moreover, women need global support that actively promotes them in all aspects of life, such as education, work, health, and leadership.
Related news: Pursuing awareness to push women's leadership : Minister
Related news: Need affirmative action for gender equality in political leadership
Related news: Need greater women's participation in political decision-making: DPR
Translator: Anita Permata, Raka Adji
Editor: Azis Kurmala
Copyright © ANTARA 2023
