Discrimination against working women rampant

Discrimination against working women rampant

JAKARTA (JP): Discrimination against women remains rampant in
many workplaces despite Indonesia adopting the Convention of the
Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women in 1984,
a scholar said Saturday.

Saparinah Sadli, head of the Women's Studies Program at the
University of Indonesia's Post Graduate School, said it was
interesting that discrimination is commonplace although the laws
on employment are, in fact, protective of women workers.

"Findings in the field confirm that discrimination against
women is still rampant, even in companies of 'good
reputation'...," Saparinah told The Jakarta Post on Saturday
about research conducted by her school in a shoe factory in
Tangerang, West Java last year.

"In the factory, female job seekers are required to have
certain skills and a high degree of accuracy while male job
seekers are considered qualified if they are physically strong,"
she said.

Furthermore, some companies treat women workers as "unmarried"
to deny them and their children social security benefits, she
added.

"This disadvantages women because it makes it difficult for
them to obtain paid maternal leave or other facilities,"
Saparinah said, adding that the government should change this
condition.

Bomer Pasaribu, chief of the All-Indonesia Workers Union --
the only labor union recognized by the government -- admitted the
rampant inequality faced by many working women.

Bomer said female workers are usually paid less than male
workers of a similar grade.

"Despite the increase in women's participation in the public
sector, it's true that discrimination against women is still
rife," Bomer, who is also a legislator, told the Post.

Certain sectors, such as textiles, food, cigarettes, wood and
electronics companies prefer to employ women because they are
cheaper and less demanding than men, he said.

He said that in 1994 women in rural areas were paid 53.4
percent less than men while in urban areas they received 61.2
percent less than their male counterparts.

Prominent legislator Aisyah Amini said that women workers are
generally not aware of their rights which are guaranteed by laws.

"But, even if they are aware, they would not dare to stand up
for their rights because they fear they would be dismissed,"
Aisyah told the Post.

According to Saparinah, the majority of workers in urban
centers come from rural areas and are not aware of their rights
and know nothing about laws.

"They dare not question their rights. They are afraid of being
dismissed any time," she said.

Saparinah urged all companies to encourage their workers to
establish a workers union to defend their rights.

According to union data last year, about 16 million, or 42
percent of Indonesian paid workers, are women. Most of them work
in the manufacturing sector.(31)