Manpower Minister Ida Fauziyah called for equal employment opportunities across genders since the labor force participation rate of women in Indonesia was still deemed as being low in comparison with that of the male counterparts.

“Our labor force participation rate shows that women’s participation is still below that of men. Moreover, many women are unemployed. This means we have a task to provide equal opportunities to men and women,” Fauziyah noted in an official statement received here on Tuesday.

Fauziyah affirmed that if women in workplaces had lesser opportunities than men, then it will create an environment that is not yet ready to support women’s presence in the workplace.

“As a result of the lack of opportunities for women, the environment is not yet supportive (for women in the workplace). Hence, adjustments in the environment are necessary, such as curfews,” the minister explained.

To this end, Fauziyah deems it crucial for companies and the environment, in general, to pay attention to the protection of women workers. In particular, the manpower minister highlighted the importance of efforts to prevent violence, sexual harassment, and discrimination at the workplace.

Apart from boosting women’s participation in the workplace, the minister also invited business players to support succeeding training programs aimed at increasing the capacity of Indonesia’s human resources through internship programs.

Fauziyah stated that if workers in future have the required competency, they would be able to compete and get accepted in the job market. To this end, she noted that internship programs are one of the solutions to overcome problems in the workforce in the country.

“If their competence could be strengthened through the internship process, then the company can also get competent workers,” she remarked.

Source: Antara News