Women In Industry, A Potential Driver Of Indonesia's Economy

JAKARTA - The participation of women in developing the industrial and economic sectors is increasing in Indonesia. Based on data from the Central Statistics Agency (BPS) in August 2021, the number of female workers in the industrial sector reached 43.82 percent of the total industrial sector workers, which amounted to 18.69 million people.

"Therefore, we continue to collaborate with various partners, both at home and abroad to be able to increase the participation of women's roles in developing the industrial and economic sectors," said Head of the Industrial Human Resources Development Agency (BPSDMI) of the Ministry of Industry, Arus Gunawan as quoted on Sunday, March 13.

The Ministry of Industry's steps cannot be separated from the influence of gender equality on increasing the national gross domestic product (GDP). Even a study from the Mckinsey Global Institute Report (2015), states that gender equality is believed to be one of the factors in increasing GDP by 135 million US dollars by 2025.

On the same occasion, Director of Prospera David Nellor said that women accounted for 54 percent of the Indonesian workforce so they have tremendous growth potential. It is important for Indonesia's education and training ecosystem, work environment, and industry to be supportive and inclusive of greater women's participation and empowerment.

"The COVID-19 pandemic has actually caused a 'she-cession', or a recession faced by women who tend to receive a bigger impact from this pandemic," he said.

The policy of reducing inequality and increasing women's participation in STEM was put forward by the Director of Manpower of Bappenas Mahatmi Parwitasari Saronto, including educating households or families and communities, improving STEM learning mechanisms by providing educators, materials, and processes.

“In addition, it is necessary to improve career guidance services, affirmative scholarships, and gender responsive mentoring. Then, reduce the gender gap, make it easier for women to access the job market, and support economic transformation policies that provide more STEM jobs," she said.