The Potential Of Women As Economic Drivers Must Be Developed

PPPA Minister Bintang Puspayoga/Photo: Antara

JAKARTA - Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection Bintang Puspayoga said the role and potential of women in the economy is very crucial. Minister Bintang explained that women's participation in the economy in Indonesia has increased significantly. 61 percent of the economy and almost half of which are owned and managed by women. This illustrates the potential for women to work and invest very crucially, not only for daily life and family resilience, but also for the country. "As the largest economy in ASEAN, Indonesia needs to implementing the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN) to accelerate economic growth. By allocating a large enough fund through PEN, the beneficiaries and the program are mostly women, it is hoped that it can ease a fairly large economic burden during the pandemic, "said Minister P. PPA DIn a press release from the Ministry of PPPA received in Jakarta, Tuesday, March 1, Bintang also supports the initiation of the Indonesian Women Entrepreneurs Association (IWAPI) and the Asia Africa Chamber of Commerce (AACC) in facilitating capacity building of women entrepreneurs in investment, trade and business.

"On behalf of the Government of Indonesia, I would like to express my highest appreciation to IWAPI and AACC who have facilitated women entrepreneurs in terms of investment, trade and business," said Bintang. According to her, there are many women who are economically empowered and occupy positions as leaders. However, she said, not a few women were still powerless. According to her, UN Women mentioned that one of the factors influencing women's economic empowerment was discrimination in the labor market. Discrimination, said Bintang, could be in the form of limited access to certain sectors and discrimination. wages. The gender gap in the labor market not only causes a decrease in income for women, but also affects the status of women in society, thus making women's position vulnerable in careers, especially in various economic crises.