Jakarta, 31 May 2023. G20 EMPOWER is committed to completing a work plan to encourage the implementation of the recommendations contained in the G20 Leaders Declaration in Bali. In this first phase, G20 EMPOWER in collaboration with the World Bank with support from the Government of Australia, together with the Ministry of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection (KPPPA) of the Republic of Indonesia, launched the "Guidelines for Indonesian Women's Micro, Small and Medium Enterprises (MSMEs)" which contains an overview of the gender gap in Indonesia and the purpose of making these guidelines. The launch of the guideline took place in Jakarta on Tuesday (30/5) and was attended by, among others, the Minister of KPPPA of the Republic of Indonesia, Bintang Puspayoga, the World Bank Country Representative for Indonesia and Timor Leste, Satu Kahkonen, and the Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, H.E. Penny Williams PSM.
In her speech, Bintang Puspayoga said, "We really appreciate this partnership. The launch of this guideline is also a concrete action in promoting and advancing policies related to the development of women and MSMEs. The World Bank's engagement and initiative in producing actionable analytics to inform policy dialogue will contribute to maximising our efforts to advance women's empowerment in an inclusive and prosperous way."
Policies that use data and evidence as a strong foundation are needed. This will certainly be an important contributor to policies related to women's economic empowerment, especially women MSME players in the future, explained Bintang Puspayoga further.
The recently launched guidelines contain three major sections. Firstly, the introduction and purpose of the guidelines containing gender data in Indonesia. It is explained that the creation of guidelines for women MSMEs in Indonesia arose from the priority given by local governments to improve gender equality in private sector employment, encourage coordination between public and private stakeholders, and establish clear monitoring and accountability pathways to measure success.
It goes on to highlight the progress the Indonesian government has made in recent years, emphasise the challenges and provide policy discussion points around the actions needed to narrow the gender gap in Indonesia. Furthermore, it encourages collaboration between public and private sector stakeholders in improving gender equality in the workplace.
Second, a visual overview in the form of tables and graphs on female labour force participation in the private sector in Indonesia. From the data presented, it can be seen that over the past decade, women's participation has tended to stagnate and remain lower when compared to men.
Third, the next steps to achieve success. Through this guideline, further refinements of the guideline will be prepared according to a predetermined timeframe. In addition, virtual meetings will be held to review relevant Key Performance Indicators (KPIs), as well as to review the involvement of those involved in policy development.
The guide focuses on several key questions that have been identified as important in addressing gender issues in Indonesia. Furthermore, the discussion of each issue will be based on the World Bank's survey findings, reports, literature reviews, and discussions with stakeholders on women's economic participation, both past and future.
Chair of G20 EMPOWER Indonesia Presidency, Yessie D Yosetya, revealed that the guidelines that have been developed with the World Bank are the right strategy to increase economic growth, not only for women MSME players, but Indonesia as a whole. The purpose of this guideline itself is to track whether we are on the right trajectory or not. In the future, the output of this guideline is expected to be a reference for other G20 member countries to make regulations and programmes to accelerate women's empowerment.
"In accordance with this belief, one of the online learning platforms for Indonesian women developed by XL Axiata, Sisternet, to date has opened access for more than 500,000 womenpreneurs to understand gender perspectives, business planning, marketing and branding, financial literacy and digital marketing. Our womenpreneurs have experienced a 30% increase in production, a 13% increase in business turnover, and a 75% wider marketing area. This year, in collaboration with the Government of Indonesia, other private companies and civil society, we are preparing to expand our reach to empower 1 million women", Yessie further explained.
Meanwhile, World Bank Country Representative for Indonesia and Timor-Leste, Satu Kahkonen added, "Analytics plays an important role in promoting gender equality and women's empowerment. Analytics can identify to ensure equality of opportunity and protection of women's rights and help implement evidence-based policies and interventions. The launch of these guidelines is part of the World Bank's efforts to accelerate gender equality and empowerment through promoting an environment where every woman can thrive, contribute and lead."
Australian Ambassador to Indonesia, H.E. Penny Williams PSM also added, "Australia and Indonesia have a shared commitment to advancing gender equality, working together both globally and across the region. Women's economic empowerment is fundamental to achieving a more inclusive, prosperous and resilient economy. Fostering strong public-private partnerships, and addressing the challenges faced by women entrepreneurs can pave the way for greater innovation, economic growth and inclusion."
Co-Chair of G20 EMPOWER Indonesia Presidency, Rinawati Prihatiningsih, that, "Today's event is an example of a concrete collaborative effort to achieve the common goal of strengthening the business ecosystem for Indonesian women's economic participation. On behalf of G20 EMPOWER Indonesia, we would like to express our appreciation for the cooperation of the Indonesian government, the World Bank, with support from The Australian Government's Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), IWAPI, APINDO and APP Sinarmas one of the advocates and all parties in supporting our common goal of increasing women's economic participation."
The guidelines in this first phase aim to monitor and encourage the accelerated development of a conducive environment for women MSME actors in Indonesia.
Closing the gender gap in the business environment
In addition to the launch of the guidelines for women MSMEs in Indonesia, a dialogue was also held between private and public sector business players in order to improve the gender gap that is still prevalent in the business environment in Indonesia. This dialogue took place in two sessions.
In the first session, it was discussed how to promote and create a supportive environment for action, challenges, and advocacy needs of entrepreneurs to women MSMEs today. Present as panellists were the Deputy for Gender Equality of KPPPA, Lenny N. Rosalin, Acting Deputy for Population and Labour of Bappenas, Maliki, Director General of Manpower Placement and Expansion of Employment Opportunities of the Ministry of Manpower, Suhartono and Chairperson of APINDO Small and Medium Industry MSMEs, Ronald Walla.
Meanwhile, the second session was filled with material on collaboration steps between the public and private sectors. How the guidelines that have been established can be effectively used as a supporting tool to achieve common goals. Present as panellists in this session included the Deputy for Entrepreneurship of the Ministry of Cooperatives and SMEs, Siti Azizah, Director & Chief Digital Transformation and Enterprise Business Officer of XL Axiata as well as Chair of G20 EMPOWER Indonesian Presidency, Yessie D. Yosetya, CEO of Kumpul, Faye Wongso and Chief Sustainability Officer at Asia Pulp & Paper, Elim Sritaba.