Reflection of Mother's Day: It's Hard to Be a Working Mother in Indonesia because of the Double Role Burden

JAKARTA - The responsibility of taking care of the family is still an obstacle for working women after getting married and having children. In fact, Indonesia's economy is claimed to be more prosperous if mothers do not stop working.

The phenomenon of mothers quitting their jobs alias resign after having their first child is still a common thing in Indonesia.

This is in line with the findings of the Australian research institution Partnership for Economic Governance (AIPEG), that 40 percent of women in Indonesia stop working in the first year after giving birth to their first child.

In Indonesia, the view that women must contribute to household tasks is still very strong. So married women, even with children, are forced to choose between careers and families.

In fact, according to AIPEG, if women's participation in the labor force increases, it will immediately increase gross domestic product (GDP).

The story of women resigning from their jobs to take care of their families is not something strange. Until now, there are still many working women who find that the office does not provide flexibility. So many women have to choose between working and taking care of their families.

Playing the role of a working woman while taking care of the family is something that is rare to find.

In Indonesia, the social view that women must contribute to household tasks, such as taking care of children and parents, cooking, and cleaning the house is still very thick. In fact, this view gives rise to the understanding that women who do household chores themselves are women who are intact and successful.

This is in line with the views of the Faculty of Psychology of Gadjah Mada University (UGM) Academic Fuad Hamsyah. He said, in the social view in Indonesia, the responsibility of women after marriage is to take care of the household, take care of children and husbands, and carry out social roles in society. If the woman works, her role is more complex.

That is, according to Fuad, what causes women to choose to stop working because they cannot bear to carry out four roles at the same time. They choose to give in to take care of their families and households at home.

Meanwhile, men are tasked with finding money to meet the family's needs. As a result, the task of caring for the family is often handed over to women. According to a survey by the International Labour Organization (ILO), as many as 61.6 percent of women bear the double burden due to social construction.

In addition to having to bear the burden of taking care of the family, many women resign for economic reasons. An example is the cost of babysitters, daycares, to transportation to the office which is not proportional to their salaries.

On the other hand, the lack of women working has a negative impact.

According to the Central Statistics Agency (BPS), which released the employment participation figures in May 2025, the participation of women in the labor force is 56.42 percent. This means that about one in two women of productive age (15-64 years) are not working. This figure is far behind the participation of men who reach 84.66 percent.

Many of the decisions of women to stop working to take care of the household have an impact on reducing family income. If previously a family had double income from working husband and wife, now only one source of income remains.

According to data from the 2022 National Labor Force Survey (Sakernas), family income decreased by 30 percent from the original, after women stopped working.

When a family has two sources of income, an average family has an income of Rp. 3.9 million per month. With this double income, if used to cover four family members, each will get almost Rp. 1 million per month.

Compare if the wife stops working. The average income of the husband is IDR 2.76 million per month. With this income, then on average each family member receives a share of around IDR 700,000.

World Bank data shows that if women's participation in the workforce is increased from 52 percent to 58.5 percent by 2019 to 2025, GDP could rise by 0.7 percent. This will generate 62 billion US dollars per year.

Meanwhile, a study by the McKinsey Global Institute predicts that the national GDP can rise by 135 billion US dollars by 2025 if three conditions are met.

The three conditions are, if women's participation in the labor force increases, more women work full-time, and more women work in high-productivity sectors.

A simple way to support women is to divide household chores fairly. Men who are already married, need to understand the importance of taking a role in taking care of the household, more than just earning a living. In addition, facilities for quality and affordable childcare also need to be spread evenly. Women can also be supported with flexible working hours.