State-Owned Enterprises (SOE) Minister Erick Thohir has said he believes that SOEs and the G20 Empower forum share the same commitment to empowering and emancipating women in the business and professional worlds.
"I believe SOEs and the G20 Empower have the same commitment to empowering and emancipating women both in the business and professional worlds," Thohir remarked here on Thursday.
He also greatly lauded the purpose of the G20 Empower events.
"I hope SOEs and related stakeholders from the G20 Empower forum can continue to collaborate on strengthening women's potential in the business and professional world," he said.
Thus, Indonesian women can increase their contribution to the nation's socioeconomic growth and welfare, in order to realize an onward, prosperous, and globally-competitive Indonesia, he added.
Thohir further said that he is passionate and very supportive of women's emancipation in the world of work and enterprise.
According to him, women make up 49.5 percent of Indonesia's population, thus, in terms of economic contribution, Indonesian women can enter almost all business chains.
Even so, there are still many undeniable challenges faced by Indonesian women who want to participate in the business and professional realms, he said.
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Those challenges, he pointed out, include the lack of women's representation at the strategic and leadership levels, inequality in access to technology, gender-based violence and discrimination, and inadequate safe spaces for women in the workplace.
G20 Empower is one of the working groups of Indonesia's G20 Presidency which aims to accelerate women's leadership and empowerment in the private sector.
The 2nd Plenary Meeting of G20 Empower was held in Yogyakarta from May 17–19, 2022. According to the g20.org website, it discussed barriers to financial access for women-led MSMEs among other topics.
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