Here's How The Ministry Of Cooperatives And SMEs Increase Gender Equality In The MSME Sector

Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Sesmenkop UKM) Arif Rahman Hakim. (Photo: Doc. Kemenkop UKM)

JAKARTA - The Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Kemenkop UKM) in collaboration with the Asian Development Bank (ADB) and the United Nation Conference on Trade and Development (UNCTAD) held a "trade and entrepreneurship e-course learning" to improve the implementation of gender equality-based policies.

Secretary of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs (Sesmenkop UKM) Arif Rahman Hakim said that the development of gender equality-based programs and activities is one of the priorities of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs.

"This effort is also to support the development and transformation of the entrepreneurship ecosystem for MSMEs, especially for female entrepreneurs," said Arif in a written statement received by VOI, Thursday, October 26.

Arif said that so far his party has seen that Indonesia still has work to do in achieving gender equality.

Bearing in mind, based on World Economic Forum data on the 2022 Global Gender Gap Report, in general, Indonesia has scored a gender inequality index of 0.697 and is ranked 92nd out of 146 countries.

Meanwhile, based on Data from the United Nations Development Program (UNDP), it has shown that the Women's Empowerment Index (WEI) 2022 classifies Indonesia as a low women empowerment group in the world.

"Even in more specific areas such as the Association of Southeast Asian Nations or ASEAN, Indonesia is only perched in sixth position," he said.

According to him, gender mainstreaming in government programs has a significant impact on creating gender equality and sustainable development.

"This is not only about providing equal opportunities, but also increasing the economic and social role of women, reducing gender inequality, and ensuring equal access to resources and financing," said Arif.

Therefore, said Arif, this training is expected to improve issues of gender equality, especially in the context of trade and entrepreneurship, especially in the cooperative and MSME sectors.

"We have issued the Decree of the Minister of Cooperatives and SMEs Number 7 of 2020 concerning general guidelines for implementing gender-based programs in the fields of cooperatives and MSMEs. This can be used as a guide in an effort to ensure gender mainstreaming, including women and disabilities," he said.

On the same occasion, UNCTAD Actor Miho Shirotori said, the collaboration between UNCTAD and ADB with the Government of Indonesia aims to increase knowledge and understanding for policy makers regarding women's trade, entrepreneurship and economic empowerment.

"This aims to reduce the gap between women and men in Indonesia in accessing and obtaining development benefits, as well as increase women's participation and improve control in development," he added.