FEW, an organization that binds active, busy women

By Izabel Deuff

JAKARTA (JP): A few smartly dressed white women laughed and chatted in English in the Batur Room in the Mercantile Club on the 18th floor of the World Trade Center in Central Jakarta. Their classic cut suits were fitting attire for the suite, which has a strict dress code, and the crisp white shirts of the waiters who stood at intervals around the carpeted room only served to emphasize the exclusive nature of this meeting.

That was on Thursday, June 28, at 6:30 p.m. Welcome to the monthly meeting of the Forum for Executive Women (FEW).

Two new members were informally introduced and were cordially invited to taste the tuna and the beef toasts. The bar was open, but was avoided by the members, who preferred to have tea.

An hour later, led by FEW chairwoman Ann Walsh, the assembled group moved toward chairs ranged in the middle of the room. Ann began to speak. She welcomed the newcomers in a plain and easy way -- just as a chief executive would do so. That night, 21 people turned up to watch a slide show presented by Carl-bernd Kaehling, the special guest that evening, on one of his trips through Maluku.

The beautiful white sands and clear seas met with universal approval and generated several envious exclamations from the audience.

Do these full-time and ever-air-conditioning-living ladies work so that they too can treat themselves to such holidays? Had they gathered to lay plans for just such a trip?

Not at all. This event was one of many, ranging from entertainment to business activities, which are organized by FEW, a non-profit organization with exclusively female members. However, despite its membership rules, the main objective of the group is not to defend women's rights or to empower women.

This non-feminist forum aims to link together working women and involve them in a network. It gives them the opportunity to meet people from a similar background and to exchange information and socialize.

"FEW is different because we meet in the evening whereas other women's associations usually organize activities in the afternoon and target non-working women in particular," said Judith S. MacCornick, a member and chief consultant at Persona.

FEW was born two years ago. Claire Kosh, one of the eight founders, explained how the association came into existence: "We were a bunch of friends, all working women. Unlike men who had their business or their golf events, we didn't get the opportunity to meet very often. We were flabbergasted that we appealed to so many people the first time we held a meeting."

The first meeting was held on May 1, 1996, and was attended by around 80 women. At first only foreign women came, then FEW became more serious, set up a formal structure and became more cosmopolitan. It has now welcomed women from as far afield as Western Europe, North America, India, Singapore, Australia and Indonesia.

On the last Thursday of each month, between 20 and 100 members attend a regular group meeting. The size of the audience depends on the subject for discussion. They have in the past organized a jewelry event, a panel discussion of bankers, and in the future might hold a wine tasting session.

According to Jenny Mann, an Indonesian member, most of the local members are looking for opportunities to network with and gain knowledge from foreign professionals.

Property consultant Alison Cooke has been a member of the group for two years. "I wouldn't need to join such an organization if I were in London or Paris because a business network already exists. Here it's just opening up. It is a good way to meet well-known and prominent people with whom it would otherwise be difficult to get an appointment to meet."

FEW has already hosted Barbara Harvey, deputy ambassador at the American Embassy, Nenny Soemawinta of ANteve and Tini Hadad, chairwoman of the Indonesian Consumers Association. Other prominent people who have spoken at the groups meetings are Mari Pangetsu from the Center for Strategic and International Studies, Jim Castle of the Castle Group and John MacBeth, the Jakarta Bureau Chief for the Far Eastern Economic Review. The have spoken on issues ranging from deregulation, growth opportunities and Indonesia's economic crisis.

Non-members can attend the meetings but they have to pay an entrance fee which ranges from Rp 30,000 to Rp 50,000, depending on the venue and the food and beverage served.

To join the group you have to pay a registration fee of Rp 30,000 which covers the cost of maintaining the FEW directory and printing a regular newsletter.

The organization currently has 220 members who are between 21 and 65 years old. The average age in the group is 30.

The members work for governments and local and international private companies. They have good jobs -- they are divisional heads, managers, professors, directors, vice presidents, presidents and executive directors -- and transgress many sectors of the economy.

Their successful careers make them much more self-confident than other women. As Jenny said, "these women are very smart and well educated. When they have a career they know exactly what they want."

She compared them with Indonesian women, whom she said were too shy, lacked enough aggression and were too willing to compromise, adding that the group would like to have more Indonesian members.

"We would like to have more Indonesian members," said Alison.

She told The Jakarta Post that one French woman was disappointed at not having met any Indonesian people at one of the FEW meetings. It should be an exchange where foreign people can discover Indonesia and the local members can promote their country.

Alison expressed a desire for FEW to become more active in women's issues, especially in the aftermath of the widespread violence that was directed toward women during the May riots. She also said she would like the members to be more active in proposing ideas for future meetings, but was still satisfied with the forum because it was professionally managed. That was a point every member seemed to appreciate, besides the efforts made to give all the members a friendly welcome and to listen to what they had to say.

You would be surprised how much you could learn from Goenawan Mohamad, a famous Indonesian intellectual who is scheduled to address FEW's next meeting on July 30.

Anyone who is interested in joining FEW should contact Aparna Vidyanath on 530-7892 or 530-0088.