VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta (VOI News) - The International Labour Organisation (ILO) in collaboration with the Embassy of Ireland to the Republic of Indonesia hosted a discussion on Advancing Women in Science, Technology, Engineering, Arts and Mathematics (STEM) for the Future of Work. The discussion featured various women panelists who shared their journey and experiences in the field of STEM. This discussion was aimed at inspiring more women and young girls to join STEM-related fields. The Ambassador of Ireland to the Republic of Indonesia Olivia Leslie spoke to Voice of Indonesia about why Ireland initiated this discussion and what can be done to empower women in Indonesia.

“The embassy decided to host women in STEM discussions here in Indonesia because we believe it's an area where we have a lot of expertise in Ireland. And the STEM industries are very prominent in Ireland. We have a lot of tech companies in Ireland, we've got a lot of large Industries including pharma, manufacturer, etc. So, we felt that we had a particular story to tell about how we've built our education system to support STEM, but also what we are doing and the challenges that we face in getting more women engaged in STEM at the educational level, and at work level," said Ambassador Olivia Leslie.

The Ambassador of Ireland Olivia Leslie further said women in Indonesia are often at the top of their fields, such as some very senior women in the Indonesian cabinet. She added Ireland had the pleasure of working with some of them and believed that there is scope to support Indonesians and Irish people across the board in STEM, but also in more traditional occupations.

The Country Director for the ILO, Michiko Miyamoto also spoke to Voice of Indonesia about how Indonesia can really tap into STEM and create opportunities, especially for women.

“I think it's a very important field that the country can really tap into, you know, we need to build human resources, skills, knowledge capacity. So, when the countries really would like to focus on, you know, economic development and the human resources, this is, this is the area that probably we need to pay a bit more attention and put more resources into it. Why because it will help develop many industries and opportunities you know, for more. And especially for women, because it is a non-traditional area of work, apart from putting resources for education in general, we need to encourage awareness-raising effort by the industry by, by the female leadership, to convince this added value of smart Indonesian women with lots of potential and who can really contribute to the, to the society, community in many different way,” said Michiko Miyamoto.

According to the press release issued by the ILO, advances in technology and subsequent automation of jobs will significantly change employment across the world. The ILO has estimated that 56 percent of the employment (around 60 million jobs) may be affected due to automation. According to the ILO, since women are predominantly employed in sectors that require lower STEM skills, they are at higher risk of losing their jobs due to automation. The event introduced the ILO’s “Women in STEM program” that seeks to equip women with the required technical and soft skills that will help them enter and grow in the field of STEM. (VOI/SAYEE SHREE L.R/AHM)