The Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection has highlighted the vital role of companies in supporting gender equality in the workplace.

“Companies have an important role in the program of women’s empowerment and gender equality,” acting secretary to the ministry’s deputy for public participation, Prijadi Santoso, said at the “G20 EMPOWER Road to G20 2022” webinar, which was followed online on Wednesday.

The G20 is an international forum comprising 19 countries and the European Union that work together to handle major issues. Indonesia is holding the presidency of the grouping this year.

The G20 Alliance for the Empowerment and Progression of Women’s Economic Representation (G20 EMPOWER) is a working group under the sherpa track of the Indonesian G20 Presidency, which has the objective of expediting women’s leadership and empowerment.

The COVID-19 pandemic has created a gender gap in the economy due to the increasing dependence on the use of digital technology, Santoso noted.

Therefore, to answer the challenges faced by women in terms of digital technology and future work, various efforts have been made by the government, businesses, and non-governmental organizations to push women’s empowerment and reduce gender inequality.

“Those efforts have been made by companies through dissemination, advocacy, policy development, and good practices. In other words, companies have played an important role,” he noted.

He added that women’s empowerment and gender equality are crucial aspects and have become the focus of G20 EMPOWER.

“G20 EMPOWER is an alliance of the G20 for the empowerment and representation of women’s progress, which focuses on improving and strengthening (women’s) leadership and increasing women’s opportunities in the private and public sectors,” he explained.

The webinar is expected to support efforts to boost companies’ role in promoting women-run small and medium enterprises, women’s empowerment, and gender equality in the workplace, he added.

Source: Antara News