Indonesia looks to bridge existing gender pay gap

The ministry’s special staff Hindun Anisah said the highest poverty rate was observed among women as most do not have an income, and the culture does not encourage them to earn an income.

She also said, “We are also keen to increase the level of women’s participation at work, because so far the participation rate of the female workforce reaches only 53%, and is still less than that of male workers, with the percentage reaching 80%.”

At the recent Forum Group Discussion (FGD) on Increasing the Participation of Female Workers, Anisah said the low participation of women at work is related to culture and community views.

To address such challenges, the Ministry of Manpower has implemented several programmes to increase women’s participation at work and provide additional income to women, especially those keen on becoming entrepreneurs, she said, adding that the Ministry of Manpower has a unit tasked with increasing female workers in the work sector.

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Anisah said the ministry will immediately follow up on the varied inputs from FGD participants and to coordinate with the relevant ministries. The Ministry of Manpower has also issued a circular regarding workers in the informal sector or for domestic workers, according to Antara News.