Women, Work and Care (Indonesia)
Summary
While Indonesian women have always been relatively economically active, social norms continue to demand that women (as wives, mothers and daughters) remain first and foremost committed to caring for their husbands, children and parents. The report details that women business owners still consider their primary role as that of wife and mother rather than business woman, and even where women earn the larger share of household income, they are still considered to be ‘secondary earners.’
The report highlights that women’s family responsibilities of caring for young children and the elderly are necessitated by the absence of state provisions that could otherwise support women to be active in the workforce. While the Indonesian government has a ‘national vision’ on women’s empowerment and has introduced a number of policies to support this, there has been limited success in its implementation and progress remains slow.
The Women, Work and Care report also illustrates how gender equality in Indonesia intersects with socio-economic inequalities, as women from wealthier segments of society are able to employ domestic help and are therefore afforded greater equality than those from lower socio-economic groups.
Contents
- Women in the family
- The distribution of unpaid care work
- Balancing work and care
- Policy challenges
Highlights
