[Jakarta, Indonesia, 26 September 2016] — Indonesia’s leading CEOs and business leaders have formed a new coalition to promote women’s empowerment in the workplace, saying women’s equal economic participation is key to Indonesia’s economy.
The Indonesian Coalition Business Coalition (IBCWE) was formed with the support of the Australian Government’s Investing in Women initiative. Australia’s Ambassador to Indonesia, His Excellency Mr. Paul Grigson, hosted a breakfast for founding member companies to mark the Coalition’s launch.
“The Australian Government makes empowering women one of our central objectives because of the significant benefits that flow to whole communities and economies from women’s participation”, he said. “Women’s equality is not only a development objective in its own right, it’s smart economics. Addressing limits on women’s participation in the workforce could potentially add up to US$89 billion a year to the (APEC) regional economy”[1].
“The Indonesian Business Coalition for Women’s Empowerment will lead the way in convincing other companies that socially and economically, gender equality in the workplace is a good idea”.
The inaugural Chairwomen of the Coalition is Ms. Shinta Kamdani, advisor to the Vice President of the Republic of Indonesia, Vice Chair of KADIN, the Indonesian Chamber of Commerce and Industry, Deputy Chair of Indonesian Employers Association APINDO and CEO of Indonesian conglomerate Sintesa Group.
Ms. Kamdani said “Although it could be said that I have enough on my plate, I took on this initiative because I really believe the issue of gender equality affects all of us – and that the private sector can play a very important role in addressing gender issues”.
She continued by saying that with good champions, business leaders with passion, the sharing of best practices and working in partnership with government, NGOs and many other institutions, the private sector gain a momentum and make an impact.
The Coalition’s eight founding member companies represent some of Indonesia’s largest and most innovative employers; all role models in gender equality. Founding members are: Adis Dimension Footwear; Accenture; btpn; Gajah Tunggal; Mitra Adiperkasa (MAP); Pan Bros; Sintesa Group; and Unilever Indonesia.
“The Australian government has been very supportive of this initiative. The Coalition very much appreciates that, and we look forward to a strong collaboration with the Australian government moving forward,” added Ms. Kamdani.
Members will commit to agreed gender equality goals, take action to achieve those goals and measure their progress, and share their learnings and act as a role model to other members.
[1] National Center for APEC and the APEC Business Advisory Council, 2013.