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Jakarta, InfoPublik – Coordinator of the G20 Presidency Policy Brief, Emilia Yustiningrum, said that women have an important role in economic recovery. Therefore, the [women] empowerment should be carried out properly. Emil said that since the 2014 G20 heads of state meeting in Australia, G20 has been focusing on empowering women in the private sector for economic recovery after the 2008 global crisis. “In the context of Indonesia, women supporting the national economic recovery are not from private sector, but MSME players. Therefore, the role of women is important in the national economic recovery after the global crisis and also in the current post-pandemic context," she said, on Saturday, April 9, 2022, in Jakarta. Empowering women in the context of developing MSMEs is a strategy that supports businesses in core activities and supply chains. Women who have been empowered are believed to be able to provide more benefits to businesses. Emil said, based on the survey by the National Team for the Acceleration of Poverty Reduction (TNP2K) and Cooperatives and Small and Medium Enterprises (SMEs) Ministry in 2020 showed that 64.4% of business players are women in the productive age and those living in urban areas. "In this case, women who drive MSMEs in Indonesia, are supporters of the national economic supply chain," he said. Despite having an important role in the development of MSMEs and economic recovery, it is undeniable that women are still considered as vulnerable groups. The struggle to be considered equal is still felt by many women. Emil explained, there are three problems related to women MSME players in Indonesia. First, the socio-cultural aspect with the existence of a patriarchal culture believed by many groups. "Patriarchal culture and gender bias at the family and community levels are the main obstacles for women to start and run their businesses," he said. Second, aspects of education and skills. Women entrepreneurs generally have limited managerial skills and use of technology to develop their businesses. Third, the structural aspect, it is seen from the large number of female MSME players who generally work in the informal sector. "Since The COVID-19 pandemic has reduced economic transactions and people's purchasing power, there are still disparities in the level of education and digital literacy to drive businesses," said Emil, who is the Coordinator of the Cluster for Foreign Politics and International Issues, the Political Research Center of the National Research and Innovation Agency (BRIN). Through Indonesia’s G20 Presidency in 2022, she hopes that there will be a commitment to the advancement of MSMEs, especially female MSME players in Indonesia. The initial step that can be taken is to update the database of women MSME players so that the running programs can be right on target. “With the momentum of the G20 Presidency, the Indonesian government needs to strengthen and update women MSME players database. Data from the International Finance Corporation (IFC), a member of the World Bank, since 2016 until now has become the government's reference regarding MSMEs in Indonesia. A national database from the Ministry related to MSMEs that can reach out so that various programs regarding MSMEs can be right on target," she concluded.
Image:Antara |
