Deputy Head of Bappenas Highlights the Importance of Women's Role in Decision-Making
Deputy Minister for National Development Planning and Deputy Head of Bappenas, Febrian Alphyanto Ruddyard, has stated that women are the managers of family economies and guardians of social stability. He assessed that women’s roles are vital in decision-making to ensure policies become effective.
This was expressed by Febrian at an event themed ‘Community Empowerment, Increased Independence, and National Resilience in Strengthening Strategic and Inclusive Women’s Leadership’ at Jakarta City Hall on Wednesday (8/4/2026). He said that if women are seen merely as beneficiaries, the government is limiting the nation’s potential.
“If we still view women as beneficiaries, then we are limiting our own nation’s potential. In fact, women are managers of family economies, guardians of social stability, community connectors, and main actors in crisis response,” Febrian stated in his presentation.
Febrian explained the role of women in decision-making. If that voice is lost, the effectiveness of policies is also lost.
“Ultimately, when women are not at the decision-making table, what is lost is not just a voice; what is lost is the effectiveness of policies,” he said.
Febrian assessed that future challenges such as crises, climate change disasters, and global uncertainties will not wait for society to be ready. Therefore, the government positions women’s leadership as part of development transformation.
“However, I want to emphasise one important thing. Transformation does not happen on paper. Transformation happens when we dare to change our way of thinking. Dare to move away from narrow top-down approaches, dare to acknowledge that solutions do not always come from the centre, and dare to place women as co-creators of development and not just as objects,” he said.
“A strong nation is not one that never falls. A strong nation is one that does not leave anyone behind when it rises. And if we want to build real resilience, we must ensure that women are no longer on the sidelines. They must be at the centre, not because we give them space, but because that is their true position,” he added.
Therefore, Febrian continued, he invited a change in the way development is viewed. Not just what programmes are given to women, but how to build together with women as leaders, as decision-makers, and as drivers of change.
“If we dare to do that, then we are not only strengthening women; we are strengthening the nation. And ultimately, resilience will no longer be just jargon, but it will become a real foundation for a strong, inclusive, and sovereign Indonesia towards Golden Indonesia 2045,” he concluded.