The Indonesia Stock Exchange (IDX), in collaboration with the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE), is once again holding the Women’s Inspiring and Networking Group (WING) initiative through its 4th event titled “Care Economy and Inclusive Leadership: Promoting Well-being and Equitable Workplace Practices, Increasing Productivity”.
The event was opened by Director of the Indonesia Stock Exchange, Risa E. Rustam, who emphasised, “Although Indonesia has made progress, as evidenced by the decline in the Gender Inequality Index and the increasing number of women in managerial positions, women’s representation at senior leadership levels is still far from optimal. This condition points out the need for structural changes, more progressive policies, and collective corporate commitment to creating an inclusive work culture for all genders”.
The 2024 World Bank Report shows that mothers in Indonesia spend an average of 13.7 hours per day caring for children, while fathers spend only 3.8 hours. This disparity has a direct impact on women’s participation in the workforce. The Female Labour Force Participation (FLFP) rate being only 46% and dropping to 30% for mothers with children aged 0–12 months. Adequate childcare support is considered to be able to increase FLFP. Recognising this, WING raised the issues of the Care Economy and Inclusive Leadership to encourage companies, particularly Listed Companies, to adopt inclusive, equitable, and sustainable work policies and practices, in order for female workers to receive the support they need to perform at their best in their chosen roles, including rising to the top.
In WING 4, participants were invited to actively discuss in small groups on the theme “Turning Care Economy into Practice”. This session delves deeper into the issues of the Care Economy and the implementation of company policy that support equality, including the role of male workers as allies in creating an inclusive work environment. This session brought together practitioner speakers and company leaders who have implemented policies supporting Gender Equality in the Workplace: Human Resource Director of PT Gordej Consumer Products Indonesia Cicin Winedar, Chief Risk and Sustainability Officer of PT Amartha Mikro Fintek Aria Widyanto, and Talent Acquisition Director of PT L’Oréal Indonesia Yahya Prasetya Suryadi.
Through this initiative, IDX and IBCWE aim to continue inspiring and motivating more companies to take concrete actions in supporting Gender Equality in the Workplace. These real efforts by companies are expected to contribute to creating sustainable positive change for Indonesia.
