Minister Of Finance Says Women's Financial Inclusion Can Reduce Poverty

The Minister of Finance of the Republic of Indonesia, Sri Mulyani Indrawati. (photo: doc. Antara)

JAKARTA - Finance Minister Sri Mulyani Indrawati said increasing women's financial inclusion will reduce the national poverty rate so that Indonesia can achieve its target of being free from poverty in 2024.

"The government realizes that the actions needed to increase equality between women and men, especially in financial inclusion, are very important not only to take advantage of economic growth opportunities, but also to reduce poverty," he said as quoted by Antara, Saturday, June 18.

Sri Mulyani revealed, based on data from the Indonesian National Financial Inclusion Council (DNKI), the level of women's financial account ownership has increased to 62 percent in 2021 or the same as men.

However, according to the Minister of Finance, the financial inclusion of women in Indonesia is still relatively lower than that of men, as globally, the level of financial inclusion of women is still 7 points lower than that of men.

"In addition, currently women in Indonesia also make up 53.13 percent of the workforce in Indonesia or more than men. This is quite significant, but 62 percent of women work in the informal sector,” she said.

He emphasized that increasing gender equality and reducing the disproportionate burden on women could increase global economic growth or increase the world's Gross Domestic Product (GDP) to 13 trillion US dollars.

Meanwhile, COVID-19 also has a significant impact on women, which if not addressed, could reduce global GDP by up to 1 trillion US dollars in 2030.

"But if action is taken to achieve increased gender equality by 2030 including by investing in education, family planning, maternal health, digital and financial inclusion, and also by improving the burden of working women, the world's GDP could be increased," he concluded.