Indonesia outlines strategies for women’s empowerment at APEC meeting

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Indonesia’s Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection outlined several strategies and initiatives to increase women’s economic empowerment through entrepreneurship.

“This policy aims to highlight women’s significant contribution to the national economy through entrepreneurship and enable them to effectively manage and run their businesses,” Indra Gunawan, acting deputy for gender equality at the ministry, said on Thursday in a statement.

He made these remarks during the joint meeting of APEC Ministers Responsible for Women and Ministers Responsible for Trade in Arequipa, Peru.

Gunawan emphasized that through the Penta Helix collaborative approach, Indonesia is engaging ministries, civil society, the private sector, academics and the media to jointly create an environment that supports women’s participation in global trade markets and supply chains.

Implementing a presidential regulation, Indonesia has strengthened the recognition of women-owned businesses by establishing a special definition for these businesses.

In 2020, the government launched the National Strategy for Women’s Financial Inclusion (SNKI-P) to increase access to finance for women.

This initiative aims to ensure that every woman has access to information, skills, resources and economic opportunities.

In this context, the Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion Coalition (IKDP) was formed, followed by the signing of a Joint Commitment to Realize Women’s Digital Financial Inclusion in 2023, which emphasizes the role of government in increasing women’s access to digital technology.

Furthermore, this commitment aims to promote the importance of disaggregated data in the financial sector and encourage collaborative efforts between relevant ministries, financial authorities and the private sector.

The ministry has also introduced Guidelines for Women’s Digital Transformation and Guidelines for Women’s Entrepreneurship with a Gender Perspective, which provide gender mainstreaming strategies in digital transformation and women’s entrepreneurship development.

“With these guidelines, stakeholders are expected to be able to design policies that address gender inequality in entrepreneurship, especially financial access and digital adoption,” Gunawan said.

He also highlighted one of the ministry’s key initiatives for the Development of Women Friendly and Child Care Villages (DRPPA), which aims to accelerate the implementation of strategies for women empowerment, gender equality and child protection at the grassroots level.

The program prioritizes developing and strengthening basic infrastructure for women, starting at the village level.

There are currently 138 pilot villages in 71 districts and 33 provinces, and this will be replicated nationwide.

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