Expectations of Business Actors for Equality

Gender equality is still a challenge in various countries, including Indonesia. The challenges that are still often faced are gaps in the world of work. Many companies are still trapped by patriarchic rules, but now there are also many who have realized the importance of gender equality in the world of work and started making changes within the company.

According to World Bank data, the global level of welfare can increase by 21.7% if gender equality is implemented. In contrast, global human capital wealth losses are estimated at US $ 160.2 trillion due to gender inequality.

With this background, IBCWE made CEO Talks with the title “Hope for Indonesian Businessmen Towards Equality”. IBCWE invited speakers from four companies in Indonesia who have had the initiation of creating a gender-friendly and equality-friendly workplace. The four speakers were Neneng Goenadi, Managing Director of Grab Indonesia; Ernest Hutagalung, Chief Financial Officer (CFO) Telkomtelstra; Michelle Tjokrosaputro, CEO of PT Dan Liris; and Hugo Diba, CEO of Kumparan.

Globally, the United Nations took the initiative to carry out a transformation towards sustainable development by including “equality and empowerment of gender all women and girls” as one of the agendas in “The 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development”. This is done to end all forms of discrimination against women, and to ensure equality of opportunity for women at all levels of leadership, both in the public, economic and political sectors.

The President of IBCWE, Shinta Widjaja Kamdani, believes that for the company, the opportunity to add more women to the board and senior leadership is a great achievement. To continue to grow, companies also need to create gender-friendly workplaces, develop women-oriented investments, promote diversity practices, and continue to increase the number of women holding key positions in a company.

Meanwhile, according to the Australian Embassy’s Indonesia d’Affaires Charge, Allaster Cox, gender equality in the workplace is important, not only because it is the right thing to do, but because it can improve the overall economic performance of the country. Allaster emphasized that the private sector plays an important role in advancing the gender equality agenda, by being a driver of change and ensuring equal opportunities for men and women to develop and reach their full potential.

With the presence of leaders with a gender perspective, in the future it is hoped that there will be a policy perspective with a gender perspective. If the government does not seriously regulate this policy, gender equality will never be realized. Gender equality is not an end goal, but is a way to achieve national development goals.

Inspector General of the Ministry of Finance, Sumiyati, in the closing speech of CEO Talks, assessed that, like men who have power, women naturally also have power with different characteristics than men, so that their contribution can provide added value to where they work. Sumiyati emphasized that the empowerment concept needed by women is not to be given power but to be given opportunity. Because women can also work as well as men if they are given equal opportunities, and support from family and work environment.