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