Career women face many challenges<\/p>\n
Today's women are becoming more liberated -- they know what
\nthey want and many do not hesitate to express themselves, thanks
\nto R.A. Kartini (1879-1904). She was declared a national heroine
\nof emancipation in 1964, and since then her birthday, April 21,
\nhas been celebrated as Kartini Day. Indonesia has many female
\nexecutives, but this does not mean that women are fully
\nemancipated. Women who focus on their careers also have to face
\nthe consequences of their choice. The Jakarta Post's team of
\nreporters, T. Sima Gunawan, Sugianto Tandra, Ridwan M. Sijabat,
\nStevie Emilia, Hyginus Hardoyo, Imanuddin, Benget Simbolon,
\nMeidyatama Suryodiningrat and photographer Arief Suhardiman, look
\ninto the issue. More stories are printed on Pages 7
\nand 13.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): The couple are both lawyers. Lelyana Santosa
\nleaves for work at 8 a.m. and returns at about 7 p.m. Her
\nhusband, Mas Achmad Santosa, leaves at the same time, but always
\ngets home later. Their only child, an eight-year-old boy, is in a
\nnanny's care.<\/p>\n
The Santosas are one of today's young couples who work outside
\nthe home. What makes them different from many others, is that she
\nmakes more money than he does.<\/p>\n
"To be frank, Lely's income is much better than mine," Achmad
\ntold The Jakarta Post.<\/p>\n
That is not surprising. She is a partner at Lubis, Santosa and
\nMaulana, one of the city's prestigious law firms, while he is
\nExecutive Director of the Indonesian Center for Environmental
\nLaw, a non-governmental organization.<\/p>\n
Santosa is aware that not many people accept the idea of a
\nwoman earning more than her husband. He said he did not see it as
\na problem, but added: "One day I might quit and look for a job
\nwith a better salary because, you know, in the long run my
\nrelatives might talk about us behind my back."<\/p>\n
It goes without saying that more men than women make the big
\nbucks. But it is undeniable that over the past few years there
\nhas been an increase in the number of successful women
\nexecutives. Warta Ekonomi weekly reported last August, that women
\nmade up about 10 percent of the best-paid 225 executives in the
\ncountry. Yes, they have cracked the glass ceiling! Two of them
\nwere even listed in the top 10. Eva Rianti Hutapea, a director at
\nIndofood Sukses Makmur, was sixth and Rini M.S. Suwandi was
\nseventh. Each of them made more than Rp 1.2 billion (US$521,000)
\nin 1995, including bonuses.<\/p>\n
In the United States, their counterparts make much more. Check
\nthis out: Linda Wachner, who heads two large publicly held firms
\nsimultaneously, receives an annual salary of $2.47 million from
\nthe Warnaco Group, and $975,000 million from Authentic Fitness,
\naccording to January's issue of Working Woman. In addition, she
\nreceives awards and bonuses of more than $12 million. The second
\nbest-paid executive, Jill Barad, CEO of Mattel, earns $786,546,
\nand a total compensation of $6.17 million.<\/p>\n
Women who are successful in their careers are not
\nautomatically successful in their marriages as well. Marriages in
\nwhich the woman earns more than the man can be fragile if this
\ncauses him to suffer a feeling of inferiority -- a factor that
\ncan rock a marriage, said Naek L. Tobing, a sexologist and
\npsychiatrist.<\/p>\n
The children might suffer too if their mothers do not pay
\nenough attention to the family, or mix problems at work with ones
\nat home. Psychologist Utami Munandar reminds working mothers not
\nto mix home and work problems. They should intensify personal
\ncommunication with the children, especially those under five, to
\nhelp their personality development, and make the most of any
\nopportunity to give their children attention when they are at
\nhome.<\/p>\n
Yet, the number of women working outside the home is
\nconstantly increasing.<\/p>\n
Of the over 200 million people in Indonesia, more than 2.82
\nmillion women made up 35.3 percent of the 7.99 million workers
\nlast year. By the end of the government's sixth five-year
\ndevelopment plan in 1999, women are expected to make up 53.1
\npercent of the work force.<\/p>\n
In the lower classes, women have to work or their families
\nwould suffer. But the middle to upper classes might frown upon
\nwomen who build careers outside the home.<\/p>\n
Kustiono, 45, a graduate of Bandung Institute of Technology
\nand works at a state-owned company, believes a woman's place is
\nin the home.<\/p>\n
"I won't allow my wife to work outside the home. I have a good
\njob and I earn enough to feed my family. What's important for her
\nis taking care of our son and our home. He needs his mother a
\nlot," he told the Post.<\/p>\n
His wife, Lita, 38, is a graduate of University of
\nPadjadjaran, Bandung. She worked as an English instructor at the
\nuniversity, and a language consultant at an international
\ninstitution, before becoming a full-time housewife. She quit work
\n10 years ago after having a baby.<\/p>\n
"In the first five years, it was okay with me. But now I am
\nreally bored. I want to work again but I don't know how to start.
\nBesides, my husband does not like the idea," said Lita.<\/p>\n
The fact that not all men are happy to see their wives working
\nmight motivate some career women to put marriage on hold. The
\ntrend, long established in the West, is also felt here.<\/p>\n
Conservative<\/p>\n
Wardah Hafidz, a feminist, said there were several reasons men
\ndid not like to see women working. The most conservative men,
\nlike Kustiono, believe that working women go against their kodrat
\n(destiny). Others say that mothers who work outside the home have
\nless time for their children, which could negatively affect their
\nchildren's development. There are also men who say working women
\n"steal" men's jobs, and increase unemployment.<\/p>\n
"Some people also believe there are more extra-marital affairs
\nas a consequence of the increasing number of working women," she
\nsaid.<\/p>\n
Different opinions about women working outside the house can
\nresult in marriage conflict or even domestic violence, she said.<\/p>\n
Can a woman build a successful career without family support?
\nThere is a motto: 'There is a woman behind a successful man' this
\ncould be applied vice versa.<\/p>\n
But Darmanto Jatman, a sociopsychologist from University of
\nDiponegoro, Semarang, does not entirely agree. He said: "In
\nreality, we can't prove that a successful man always gets support
\nfrom his wife or the other around."<\/p>\n
Even though a husband's support might not be a key factor in a
\nwoman's successful career, it is obviously crucial in a happy
\nmarriage. (team)<\/p>",
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