Jakarta, 21 March 2023. PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) continues to encourage the acceleration of gender equality in the national private industry. Director & Chief Digital Transformation & Enterprise Business Officer of XL Axiata, Yessie D. Yosetya, said that for 2023, the main skills that women need to master are digital skills, as well as a number of non-technical skills such as storytelling, which is identical to women's hobbies who like to tell stories. XL Axiata's attitude and commitment in supporting gender equality to date is also a follow-up to XL Axiata's participation in the G20 Empowerment and Progression of Women's Economic Representation (Empower) international forums.
Yessie's opinion was raised in a Talkshow in Jakarta, some time ago. The speakers were Acting Deputy Assistant for Gender Mainstreaming in the Economic Sector of the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (PPPA), Eko Novi Ariyanti Rahayu Damayanti, M.Si, Human Resources Director of PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk, Willy Saelan and CEO of Lively Training Academy, Certified Self Growth & Career Coach, Lika Satvarini. This event is also in commemoration of International Women's Day organised by Sisternet with the theme Accelerating Digital Equality of Indonesian Women.
Yessie said, "It's good to know that the women's leadership acceleration movement is getting wider among private companies, so we can learn from each other's experiences. In XL Axiata's implementation, there are several fundamental things that we do, namely leaders must continue to open up equal opportunities for male and female employees, both from recruitment, providing training and providing promotions. One of the programs that XL Axiata has run is "Code without Barrier" in collaboration with Microsoft. Through this program, XL Axiata invites all XL Axiata employees, especially women, to see coding as something easy and STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics) is not a scary thing."
Meanwhile, representing the Ministry of PPPA, Eko Novi said, "The Ministry of PPPA of the Republic of Indonesia appreciates XL Axiata for its strong commitment in voicing gender equality and women's economic empowerment. Since 2020, Kemen PPPA and XL Axiata have conducted various collaborations in efforts to empower women's economy through various activities carried out by Kemen PPPA and XL Axiata. This year, Kemen PPPA also appreciates XL Axiata's initiative to present the 1 million Indonesian women go digital program as a form of the company's commitment to advancing gender equality and developing women's potential from social, economic and environmental aspects."
Eko Novi added that equal participation between women and men is key to the prosperity of a nation. Digital solutions are one of the potentials that enable business owners to balance home and work responsibilities so that they (women) do not have to work outside the home. They can work at home using digital technology.
According to UN Woman, 82% of women use digital solutions to run their businesses, helping them to manage household and family responsibilities. In 2022, MoWECP developed a national strategy for women's financial inclusion that supports women MSMEs to have the knowledge, capacity, resources and opportunities to access financial inclusion products and improve their digital literacy skills to innovate in developing their businesses.
Human Resources Director of PT Unilever Indonesia Tbk, Willy Saelan provided some information about things that have been done within Unilever related to accelerating the digital equality of Indonesian women. Among other things, mapping "moments that matter" is an understanding of the important events in an employee's life to then be maximised so that female employees get Company support to remain productive while carrying out their role as a woman so that they feel at home working at the company. The program also supports women to explore all parts of their lives while they are still young.
Meanwhile, Lika Satvarini mentioned the importance of support from the closest people at work, family, and social circles. For women, support is very important because it can create a comfortable atmosphere, which in turn allows them to make decisions calmly. For this reason, it is necessary for companies to provide various facilities to support and form a comfortable and safe environment for all employees, especially women. In a supportive environment, women workers will be able to develop themselves.