Enough with Business Case and Start with Sponsorship; Advancing Women into Leadership
December 24, 2023
Masculinity Can Play a Role in Supporting Women in the Workplace
December 24, 2023
Photo by Andrea Piacquadio from Pexels
Diversity and inclusivity in the company will enrich opinions and viewpoints in it, this will benefit the company with the many solutions and innovations that can be offered. This was revealed by Puni A. Anjungsari, Citi Indonesia’s Country Head of Corporate Affair at a discussion titled Enough with Business Case and Start with Sponsorship: Advancing Women into Leadership in Jakarta, last week.
“For us at Citi Indonesia, diversity and inclusivity have become our motto. This has even been integrated in the company’s strategy of how to advance female employees to prevent talent leakage,” said a figure who is familiarly called Ibu Puni.
This is also proven through the composition of the company. Puni explained that currently women occupy a percentage position of 59% and as much as 38% go to middle management. This representation must also be reflected at the very top level, namely the Board of Directors or BOD.
There are many policies that companies can do to support female leaders. Sponsorship is a kind of helpful relationship where senior and powerful people use their personal influence to speak out, advocate and put more junior people in key roles. This program is different from mentorship, where the mentor is someone who has knowledge and will share it with you whereas the sponsor is the one who has the power and will use it for you.
One of those who successfully implemented this policy was PT Adis Dimension Footware, Margaret Vikta reached the position of President Director thanks to the program or sponsorship policy. The mother who is familiarly called Vikta said she was elected and got the opportunity to be prepared as a leader.
“I still remember 7 years ago my position was still as Product Creation Director. Mr. Harijanto (President Director at the time) once said that I must prepare myself one day to become the leader of Adis. He not only gave mentorship but also advocacy so that I could become a leader,” Vikta said.
Vikta said, there are several aspects that Sponsor saw to Sponsee to become a leader, namely the ability to work, strategic thinking, and commitment. In addition, she added, women must also have broad and deep thinking, diverse experiences, as well as extensive exposure.
Sponsorship programs can also be started with mentorship programs first to encourage the potential of women for careers. This, Vikta added, mentorship is not only about work, but also to increase the confidence of female workers.
Citi Indonesia has also made mentorship programs a culture in the company, ranging from career to personal consulting such as “maternity matters” projects to share about the life of mothers or families who have just had children.
“Citi has launched the Mentorship Program. Women in senior positions can exist because other women are training them, so it is necessary to give back. Not only mentee who advanced, but also mentors,” continued Puni.
Policies that support women’s empowerment have also become a commitment of many companies in various industries, including companies dominated by men. PT Waskita Karya (Persero), Tbk. Has also carried out initiatives in the empowerment of its female workers. “There are currently several communities in Waskita Holding such as the women’s community, the millennial community, and the global competitiveness community. And we have five main keys to develop potential, namely knowledge, skills, attitude, ability, and empowerment,” said Subkhan, Senior Vice President of Quality, Health, and Safety Environment of PT Waskita Karya (Persero) Tbk.
Subkhan also said, although people’s view that the field of construction is male, but in reality there are more than 15-20 percent of the composition of women in the field. This, he added, helps balance production speed and controlling systems within the company.
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