Minister: Women must be the main drivers of workforce transformation
Minister of Manpower Yassierli has asserted that women must become the main drivers of workforce transformation amidst the development of digital technology, artificial intelligence, the green transition, and demographic changes.
“Gender equality in the world of work is not just about providing equal opportunities, but ensuring that women truly have access to skills, safe jobs, adequate protections, and room to grow,” said Minister Yassierli in a statement received in Jakarta on Thursday.
The Minister said the roots of gender inequality in the workforce remain cultural. A number of challenges persist, ranging from social norms and gender stereotypes to the view that certain jobs are only suitable for men or women. Furthermore, the unpaid care and domestic work burden predominantly borne by women, the wage gap, limited access for women to leadership positions, and violence and harassment in the workplace remain significant issues.
Yassierli assessed that technological progress could open more flexible work opportunities for women, but also risks widening the gap if digital literacy and protection against online-based violence are not strengthened. Therefore, he continued, women need access to digital literacy, financial literacy, science and technology education, vocational training, reskilling, and lifelong learning so they become not just users of technology, but also creators, developers, entrepreneurs, and drivers of the economy for their families and communities.
The government’s commitment to strengthening protections for women, added Minister Yassierli, is demonstrated through the ratification of ILO Convention No. 100 concerning Equal Remuneration and ILO Convention No. 111 concerning Discrimination in Employment and Occupation. The government has also issued Decree of the Minister of Manpower No. 88 of 2023 concerning Guidelines for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence in the Workplace, and is implementing Law No. 4 of 2024 on Maternal and Child Welfare during the First Thousand Days of Life.
Meanwhile, Indah Anggoro Putri, Director General of Industrial Relations and Social Security Development at the Ministry of Manpower, emphasised that gender equality must be present in the daily practice of industrial relations. “Women must have a safe, equal, and dignified space in the workplace. This can only be realised if the government, employers, and workers build strong social dialogue so that gender equality policies are genuinely applied in everyday working life,” said Indah.