During the Gambir Trade Talk 18 here on Thursday, Head of the Trade Policy Agency (BKPerdag) Rusmin Amin emphasized the Trade Ministry's commitment to strengthening the role of women through trade policy reforms, increasing leadership representation, expanding financial access, and digital-based training.
"We also involve women's associations in policy consultations and encourage talent-based management that is more inclusive to female employees," he remarked.
Amin explained that to support women's roles in trade, the Ministry of Trade, in collaboration with the International Trade Center (ITC), has conducted the SheTrades Outlook Indonesia, which maps to identify policies, laws, and programs that encourage women's participation in economy and trade.
The mapping includes several pillars: trade policy, business environment, legal and regulatory framework, access to skills, access to finance, and employment and community.
Related news: Indonesia, APEC committed to empowering women through trade
The mapping results show that more encouragement is still needed to empower women from the aspect of trade policy. The importance of selecting gender-based trade data also needs special attention.
"In addition to structural issues like policies and data, women entrepreneurs are also facing challenges," he said.
Those challenges include dual roles, limited access to training and technology, funding constraints, decision-making dependencies, small business scalability issues, and unorganized financial record-keeping.
He underscored women's strategic contributions to the economy, especially in the micro, small, and medium enterprise (MSME) sector.
Based on data, 99 percent of the businesses in Indonesia are MSMEs, with an estimated potential business value of US$130 billion in 2025. Meanwhile, around 64.5 percent of MSMEs are run by women.
Women lead 64.5 percent of MSMEs, dominating sectors such as fashion, food, beauty, and crafts.
Related news: Sustainable business development needs women's participation: Minister
Translator: Maria Cicilia, Raka Adji
Editor: Yuni Arisandy Sinaga
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