Many Women Turn Down Promotions, Facing a Double Burden at Home

The implementation of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DEI) in the workplace is intensifying, including targets to increase the number of female leaders. However, it is not uncommon for companies to face situations where female talent rejects leadership promotion opportunities, choosing to stay in their current roles because they feel comfortable or prioritise family.

In response to this phenomenon, experts say there is a need for a deeper understanding of the work ecosystem, gender roles, and the structural barriers faced by women on a daily basis. Notably, if a company has not provided for the basic needs of a mother.

‘Perhaps the reason isn’t that I don’t want it, but that there are so many constraints. ’If I push for my dreams, what about my child? If I chase my dreams, how will I leave my child?’,” said Rhaka during a discussion organised by Uniqlo in South Jakarta on Wednesday, 4 March 2026.

She also highlighted how society often forgets the privilege men have in pursuing a career. When men can continue to chase their dreams, women often ‘give way’ because they have recently had a child. ‘We men have the privilege to keep pursuing our dreams. That is our privilege as men. Women, when their child is born, lose their lives, their dreams, themselves, even when facing postpartum depression,’ Rhaka said.

As a company leader, she has a big dream that every workplace provides childcare facilities. The aim is to prevent mothers from facing a difficult choice between focusing on caring for their child or continuing their professional careers.

‘So that when giving birth, there is no need to worry. If you want to check on your child, there is a childcare facility in the company, you just go downstairs, so mothers don’t have to choose, ’I have to be a mother or I have to be a worker?’,’’ Rhaka said.

Director of PT Tara Naya Karsa, Fetty Kwartati, says that promoting women’s leadership requires comprehensive regulation from the top, accompanied by the formation of a gender-friendly work ecosystem. ‘Women leadership must be top-down. The top-down approach should extend from policy at the top to the ground,’ Fetty said.