From Johannesburg to Jakarta, women around the world celebrated another International Women’s Day, highlighting the many achievements and progress made over the decades.
Yet as congratulatory messages poured in, it became clear that women still face numerous hurdles in their everyday lives.
On March 6, United Nations (UN) Secretary General António Guterres warned that women’s rights are “being abused, threatened, and violated around the world.”
“Progress won over decades is vanishing before our eyes. [,,,] Gender equality is growing more distant. On the current track, UN Women puts it 300 years away,” he said during a session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women.
In Indonesia, an enormous amount of this inequality has been attributed to outdated gender norms in society, which are dictated by both formal and informal institutions.
To address the issue, the Indonesian government has implemented various policies to lessen gender inequality, and some women have climbed the ladder to hold leadership positions in both public and private corporations, even thriving in industries where most positions have been held by men.
However, the United Nations noted that as of December 2020, only 33.6 percent of indicators needed to monitor the SDGs from a gender perspective were available in Indonesian companies, leading to gaps in key areas such as protection for women in the workplace.
To honor trailblazing women and their achievements, The Jakarta Post spotlights women leaders who are actively combating gender inequality in their workplace, and #HearHer thoughts on how companies and coworkers alike can make women feel safer and more appreciated.
