Indonesian Women in the Workplace: Overcoming Barriers to Success

The Women in Leadership webinar series was first launched in March 2022 as part of the World Bank’s outreach and engagement efforts supported by the Government of Australia to provide evidence-based recommendations that will support the Indonesian Government in closing key gender gaps for accelerated economic growth. The Indonesian female labor force participation rate has hovered around 50 percent for the last 20 years, while the male labor force participation rate remains around 80 percent. With prevailing social norms emphasizing women’s role as mothers and caretakers, women’s opportunities in the labor market has been limited, while problems persist due to companies’ gender-based discrimination in hiring and promoting female workers. Recent World Bank studies show that unlocking opportunities and reducing barriers to female labor force participation in Indonesia could lead to substantial economic growth and productivity benefits to the country.

In this second series, Indonesian Minister of Manpower Ida Fauziyah will provide a keynote speech. The event will continue with a panel discussion of women leaders to explore their leadership journeys and the various pathways they have undertaken to overcome existing barriers in society and workforce. In partnership with SWA Media, this webinar will foster a dialogue on how the next generation of women can have a brighter future through better policies that actively encourage the participation and leadership of women in the workforce. Spanning across the public and private sectors, the panelists will:

• Emphasize the urgency for women to participate in the labor force for the country’s economic growth.
• Offer motivational experiences on how they overcame social and workplace barriers to achieve their dream jobs and careers.
• Share examples of corporate policies that can support women in the workplace and foster greater women leadership.

The event will be live streamed in English and in Bahasa Indonesia as well as interpretations in sign using Zoom. Instructions to choose the language can be read here.