VOI - Voice of Indonesia | RRI - Radio Republik Indonesia

Jakarta. The second day of the Women Lead Forum 2021 highlights the importance of placing women in leadership positions to promote gender equality in the workplace.

In addition, media leaders also emphasized the importance of gender literacy in the media to change patriarchal norms that discourage women.

Astiti Sukatrilaksana, Head of Human Resource Unit of UNDP Indonesia, said that companies need to recruit leaders who take sides with the marginalized or vulnerable groups such as women.

"Such leaders can build a working environment of mutual respect between colleagues of different genders, positions/levels, of different ages in order to address gender inequality," she said in the panel "Supporting Women's Leadership: Policy and Changing Norms".

UNDP Indonesia itself in 2020 received the Gold Gender Equality Seal Certification, an award from the business world and multilateral organizations which stated that the UNDP program and road machinery in Indonesia had promoted gender equality.

Regarding changing norms, the Executive Director of the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE), Maya Juwita said, even though there is a gender mainstreaming policy, there are still conflicting rules that have the potential to hinder the achievement of gender equality.

"Actually, it is good how President Joko Widodo himself was appointed several years ago by the United Nations as He for She's ambassador for gender equality. However, do not let conflicting policies, for example, the Family Resilience Bill, wants women to return to the domestic sphere," she said.

Usman Kansong, Media Group News Director, acknowledged that the gender literacy of media company leaders is still low, even among women leaders. This affects the perspective and results of coverage in the media, which still reflects a patriarchal culture.

In addition, according to Usman, media watchdog institutions such as the Press Council and the Indonesian Broadcasting Commission (KPI) have not functioned optimally in the context of a gender perspective.

"Instead of advocating gender issues, KPI regulates religious matters, such as blurring jumping sports [women athlete's body]. Why should it be censored? " he said.

Regarding the unbalanced proportion of women journalists and leaders in media companies, the Editor-in-Chief of IDN Times, Uni Lubis, said that there are still norms and cultures that prevent women journalists from pursuing their careers, such as domestic burdens and work patterns that are not friendly to women.

"There is an ecosystem that must be built to support women to reach high positions in the media office, namely from their families and the environment around them,” she said.

Chief Editor of Magdalene.co, Devi Asmarani said, apart from mainstreaming a gender perspective in the media, media consumers need to be empowered to be more critical and to know their strengths to push the media better.

"Media consumers must know that they deserve better and consume media that does not exclude other groups or certain genders. Consumers have to demand more of the media to change," she said.

In the stand-up comedy session, comic Ligwina Hananto invited women to write their own stories and step forward as leaders.

"So far, men dominate, even in writing princess stories, which are not very relatable for women," Ligwina said, who is also a financial planner.

The Women Lead Forum 2021 is an event to support working women and promote gender equality in the workplace, which will be held on 7 and 8 April 2021. (VOI)

Jakarta. The Ministry of Marine Affairs and Fisheries (KKP) is expected to receive an additional budget allocation of Rp43.34 billion in 2021 to support mangrove rehabilitation programs in four provinces.

The ministry's budget ceiling in 2021 would increase from Rp6.49 trillion to Rp6.53 trillion, KKP Minister Sakti Wahyu Trenggono told Commission IV of the House of Representatives (DPR) during a hearing here on Thursday.

"Based on the letter of the Minister of Finance, Number S-37 / MK.2 / 2021, dated March 16, 2021, the KKP will receive an additional 2021 budget of Rp43.34 billion, which has been allocated to the directorate general of marine space management,” he said.

The mangrove rehabilitation program will be implemented in six districts in Central Java, three districts and cities in Banten, 10 districts and cities in West Java, and 12 districts and cities in East Java, with a total mangrove area measuring 2,008 hectares, the minister informed.

"Activities for seed procurement, facility assistance, and supporting activities are being carried out through a labor-intensive system, with a paid wage component of Rp9.64 billion," he added.

Trenggono said he has also allocated a budget of Rp12.43 billion for mangrove rehabilitation activities, covering an area of 391.17 hectares, through cash-intensive programs.

Besides, Rp12.43 billion has been allocated for mangrove planting over an area of 391.17 hectares through a cash-for-work program involving 1,673 people and spread over 16,378 working days, he added.

The mangrove rehabilitation program is crucial because 19 percent, or around 637.6 thousand hectares, of Indonesia's mangrove ecosystem is now in a critical condition, he explained.

For Indonesia, which is an archipelago, mangroves function as a habitat and a place for marine organisms to find food and reproduce. They also help protect the coast from sea water abrasion.

Indonesia has a total of 3.3 million hectares under mangroves.

"The critical condition of mangroves is in a forest area of 460.2 thousand hectares and outside the forest area of 177.4 thousand hectares. This will be the focus of KKP in rehabilitating mangrove forests," Trenggono said. (Antaranews)

Jakarta. Magdalene.co, an online magazine that focuses on women's issues, collaborates with the Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment (IBCWE) to hold the Women Lead Forum 2021, an event to support working women and promote gender equality in the workplace, on April 7 and 8 2021.

Supported by Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian Government, this online event invites a wide range of competent resource persons from government, private sector, and international organizations.

The 2021 Women Lead Forum is the top event in the Magdalene series of programs to support women's leadership and careers.

Since September 2020, Magdalene has published various articles related to the lives of working women and efforts to support women's leadership through the womenlead.magdalene.co microsite, the How Women Lead and FTW Media podcast series, various content on social media, and the #KantorDukungPerempuan video contest on Instagram.

The Women Lead Forum 2021 highlights various problems faced by women in the workplace as well as challenges in achieving leadership positions.

The Minister of Manpower of the Republic of Indonesia Ida Fauziyah in her keynote speech explained the various conditions of gender inequality that are still found among Indonesian workers, ranging from imbalances in labor force participation rates (TPAK), wage gaps, to gender-based discriminatory treatment.

Ida also highlighted how the COVID-19 pandemic carries an additional burden on its own for female workers.

"For women, the pandemic presents additional burdens, ranging from the loss of work or income, increasing the burden of household management due to work from home, school from home, so that domestic violence by partners increases as found in a global study," she said.

“The obstacles [faced by women workers] are caused by the double burden, sexism, and stereotypes in society, gender-based discrimination, to sexual harassment. These obstacles not only affect them individually and their families, but also the country's economic potential and the Indonesian Gender Equality Index in the world rankings,” Ida said.

Responding to the various obstacles faced by women workers, Ida said that the Ministry of Manpower is committed to continuing to carry out a national movement of non-discrimination in the workplace.

Deputy Head of Mission of the Australian Embassy, ​​H. E. Allaster Cox, in his opening speech for the Women Lead Forum 2021, stated that women leaders are one of the main drivers of gender equality and have a significant influence on a country's economy recovery efforts.

"To that end, Australia is proud to join hands with Indonesia on the journey of strengthening women's representation in leadership and achieving greater gender equality in the workplace," Cox said.

Chief Editor of Magdalene, Devi Asmarani said the obstacles faced by women workers have limited their opportunities to maximize their potential. Even though there are policies that support female workers, in reality, the implementation of these policies has not been optimal, she said.

“The company has a big role to play in changing this situation. Therefore, we aim at the 2021 Women Lead Forum to unite policymakers in government, legislative institutions, and companies to share their knowledge and experiences, so that there will be lessons learned and create strong synergies to achieve gender equality in the workplace," Devi said.

In the 2021 Women Lead Forum, there were four-panel discussions that discussed four topics: "Between Domestic Responsibilities and Job Opportunities"; "The Role of Companies in Supporting Gender Equality in the Workplace"; "Normalization of Gender Equality through the Media"; and “Supporting Women's Leadership: Policy and Changing Norms”.

The two-day event was also filled with inspirational conversations with the young entrepreneurial woman Ida Swasti, as well as stand-up comedy performances by Sakdiyah Ma'ruf and Ligwina Hananto. (VOI)

Jakarta. The Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (Kadin) has forecast that the national economy will grow positively in 2021.

Kadin said its forecast is based on an increase in a number of economic indicators, such as the manufacturing index, retail sales index, cement consumption, electricity consumption, and imports of raw materials and capital goods.

"The improvement in economic indicators raises optimism that the national economic recovery is under way. The policies introduced by the government are correct and entrepreneurs have also been consistent in supporting the government to restore the economy,” deputy chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for National Entrepreneur Development, Arsjad Rasjid, said in a statement issued in Jakarta on Thursday.

Rasjid is also one of the candidates for the post of chairman of the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry for the period 2021-2026.

The government has projected that Indonesia's economic growth could return to the range of 4.3-5.5 percent in 2021, soaring far above the realization of the 2020 economic growth, which contracted by 2 percent.

According to Rasjid, in addition to economic indicators, the daily trend in positive cases of COVID-19, which has continued to decline, and the increasingly massive COVID-19 vaccination program in various regions are also factors that will improve the business world.

A number of government policies, such as relaxation incentives on luxury tax (PPnBM) for Motorized Vehicles (KB) and the Government-Borne VAT (DTP) for Landed Houses and Flats in the property sector, will stimulate economic activity, he said.

The automotive industry is a labor-intensive sector that directly employs 1.5 million workers and 4.5 million indirect workers, he pointed out. In addition, the automotive supporting industry contributed Rp700 trillion to the gross domestic product (GDP) in 2019, he added.

"The synergy collaboration between the government and the business world continues to be well established. Currently, in Indonesia, there are around 7,451 factories that produce input products for the automotive industry. We must maintain the national automotive industry base to advance the national economy," Rasjid said.

The government has also consistently implemented economic policies to strengthen Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs), which are scattered across various regions, he noted. The budget allocation for the National Economic Recovery Program (PEN) in 2021 is Rp699.43 trillion, of which Rp184.83 trillion has been set aside for MSMEs.

To support the revival of MSMEs and corporate financing, the government has issued six stimuli, namely interest subsidies for MSMEs, productive assistance for micro businesses, subsidies for guarantee fees (IJP), placement of funds with commercial banks, tax incentives, and credit restructuring.

"Kadin appreciates the government policy that focuses on restoring MSMEs, which play a strategic role in the national economy. MSMEs contribute 61.1 percent to national economic growth and absorb 97 percent of the total workforce, or 116.9 million people,"Arsjad said.  (Antaranews)