More urban women taking up careers

More urban women taking up careers

JAKARTA (JP): As many as 25 percent of women living in
Indonesian cities currently work, according to a survey by the
North Sumatra University.

But while more and more city women are now working, sexual
discrimination against females in the work place is still
rampant, Syarifah, who headed the survey, said on Saturday.

The researcher at the university's Center for Women Research
Studies said the 25 percent rate of working women is surprisingly
high for predominantly Moslem Indonesia, Antara reported.

And it reflects that women in Indonesia are making major
contributions to the nation's progress in development, she added.

Women could also fill the nation's increasing needs for more
skilled workers, said Syarifah, who also teaches public health at
the university in Medan.

One part of the survey stated the grim fact that
discrimination against women workers is not only widespread, but
when it comes to wages, pay levels for women may have
deteriorated.

According to the survey, in 1982, nearly 80 percent of all
female workers in Indonesia were earning less Rp 25,000 a month.
By 1986, the percentage of women in this category rose to 59
percent.

By contrast, the percentage of male workers who earned less
than Rp 25,000 a month in 1982 was 36 percent, falling to 15
percent four years later.

A survey on the salaries of females working at two industrial
plants in North Sumatra found that their salaries averaged
between 0.78 and 0.89 of the earnings of their male counterparts,
although both sexes did the same amount of work.

Although they formed the majority in these two plants, women
workers have less chance of being promoted, Syarifah said.

She said some of the female workers on the night shift are
also denied basic rights, such as meal and transport allowances.

Many of the women also did not exercise their right to take
three-days of menstrual leave allowed each month for female
workers by law. When it comes to maternity leave, the management
at the two companies allowed women three months of unpaid leave.

Syarifah said that as companies are hiring more and more
female workers, management should pay greater attention to their
special needs such as baby care centers or nursery rooms to allow
them to breast-feed their babies.

Managements, the workers union and the government should also
strengthen legal protection for female workers and encourage them
to develop their skills as well as give them the same
opportunities as their male counterparts in furthering their
careers.(rms)