On March 14, 2024, the Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX) together with the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), the International Finance Corporation (IFC), the Indonesia Global Compact Network (IGCN), and the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women’s Empowerment (IBCWE), organized the fifth Ring the Bell for Gender Equality to raise awareness about the role of the private sector in driving the achievement of gender equality. This year, 121 Stock Exchanges around the world joined in celebrating 10 years of “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” to commemorate International Women’s Day.
The “Ring the Bell for Gender Equality” event reflected on UN Women’s 2024 International Women’s Day theme “Investing in Women: Accelerating Progress” which highlights the importance of gender equality as the best way to accelerate economic growth and build more prosperous and equal societies. Investing in women is especially important as global situations such as crises, conflicts and climate change disproportionately affect women and girls. 1 in every 10 women in the world lives in extreme poverty and only 61 percent of women are in the labor force. In Indonesia, women’s labor force participation stands at 54.4 percent, far below that of men.
Ring the Bell for Gender Equality also serves as a platform to highlight the implementation of the Women’s Empowerment Principles (WEPs), initiated by UN Women and the Global Compact. WEPs, a guideline for the private sector to integrate gender equality into business practices and culture, is now signed by 182 companies in Indonesia. The WEPs Signatory Community in Indonesia has grown tenfold, from only 14 companies in 2019. This signifies the growing commitment of businesses in driving gender equality in the workplace, marketplace and community.
The event also featured a panel discussion with Alexandra Askandar, Vice President Director of PT Bank Mandiri (Persero) Tbk, Miftahuddin Amin, Executive Vice President and Chief Administration Officer of PT Paragon Technology and Innovation, and Cinta Laura Kiehl, as well as an Insight Session with Shinta Kamdani, CEO of Sintesa Group and Chairperson of APINDO to discuss how improving women’s empowerment can enable us to achieve an equal future for all.
