Indonesian Women Underrepresented in Business Leadership: Robert Walter Survey
Jakarta. A majority of working women in Indonesia feel there is not enough representation of women in corporate leadership roles in the country, exacerbating gender gap issue in the workplace, a survey conducted by professional recruitment firm Robert Walters found.
The "Empowering Women in the Workplace" whitepaper, published by Robert Walters, is the result of a survey including over 4,400 clients and active job seekers across Australia, China, Hong Kong, Indonesia, Malaysia, New Zealand, Singapore, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. It explores gender diversity in professional environment and the effect on empowering women as future leaders.
According to the study only 43 percent of Indonesian women thinks they are well represented in in leadership positions in business. Another 43 percent said they are underrepresented in leadership roles, while the rest were unsure about the issue.
This is the opposite for Indonesian men, with 55 percent believing women have sufficient standing as leaders in a business.
In addition, 19 percent faced difficulties coming back to work after having children, due to the lack of diversity, inclusion and equality in corporate culture.
On the bright side, 37 percent of the respondents saw that women make up more than 20 percent of leadership positions in their office and a majority said they had a female role model to look up to within their own organizations.
“Employers could consider offering flexible working options for this group of women and cultivating an inclusive workplace environment that promotes gender equality, as measures like this will help women to progress in their careers,” Vicky Semidang, manager at Robert Walters Indonesia, said in a statement on Thursday (06/10).
In order for the country to move towards a less gender bias culture, Robert Walters suggested organizations start gender diversity from the top, to empower women through mentoring and leadership programs and to provide flexible working options for both parents, such as establishing paternity leaves.
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