Women losing out in labor-intensive govt projects

JAKARTA (JP): Gender bias in labor intensive projects has created fewer opportunities for unemployed women, according to noted demographer Mayling Oey-Gardiner.

Mayling said on Friday that most participants in the program of labor intensive projects launched by the government in January were men, although she did not have figures to back up her assertion.

"The program is still focused on unemployment among men because men are considered to be the head of the family, the one who should earn the family's income," she said in a women's business forum entitled Women's Empowerment in Business.

Labor-intensive projects worth Rp 598.5 billion have been launched in 4,600 rural and urban areas in 27 provinces to help unskilled workers who have lost their jobs in the economic crisis.

In cooperation with non-governmental organizations and cooperatives, the government has also launched an eight-month project costing Rp 399 billion to employ 65,000 skilled workers who are currently out of work.

Mayling, who is also executive director of Insana Hitawasana Sejahtera, a social science research and consultancy company, said: "The government seems to be disregarding unemployed women."

The International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a September report that women were likely to account for 30 percent of those displaced from work in the formal sector.

Earlier this month, the director general for labor placement at the Ministry of Manpower, Din Syamsuddin, said unemployment had reached almost 18 million in the country.

Mayling said that recently the government has tried to allocate 20 percent of the places on labor-intensive projects to women.

"But the 20 percent target has yet to be reached on all projects. It depends on the area and type of project," she said.

Mayling said that National Family Planning Board (BKKBN) data used as the basis for distributing social safety net funds classified men as the head of household, arguing that this served to skew the program in favor of men.

She pointed out that because women's earnings are also used to support their families, women should be given an equal opportunity to participate in labor-intensive projects.

While Mayling said that stereotypes had unfavorably affected women's employment, promotion and salary prospects, she noted that some women had succeeded in focusing on stereotypes of what women do best, pointing to a number of renowned businesswomen speaking at the forum, including the owner of the famed local fried chicken franchise Mbok Berek, Ratna Djuwita Umiyatsih, better know as Mrs. Umi, and Martha Tilaar, the owner of cosmetics firm PT Martina Berto.

Other businesswoman who presented their experience at the forum were film producer and actor Marissa Haque and Sasmiyarsi Sasmoyo, who owns a travel bureau.

Umi said her business started in 1969 and was forced to close down several times. "In the beginning, I had four chickens placed in a big bowl, so to make it look like I had a lot I put small bowls under the chickens," she explained. Despite her humble beginnings, Umi now owns eight restaurants with 200 employees in Greater Jakarta, has four franchises in Jakarta, Medan and Palembang, and plans to expand into Australia and Singapore.

The family recipe fried chicken has also been exported to Saudi Arabia, Germany, England and Brunei Darrussalam, she said.

Meanwhile Martha, who started out with a small beauty parlor, said persistence is a prerequisite to success.

Sasmiyarsi said: "The important thing is how we capture opportunities from among difficulties."

Marissa, who runs PT Rana Artha Mulia, said education and knowledge were needed to seize opportunities. (01)