Jakarta, 23 September 2021. The role of the private sector in fighting for gender equality is increasingly important and urgent in the current era of industrial digitizing. For this reason, PT XL Axiata Tbk (XL Axiata) continues to encourage private business actors to increase the empowerment of women workers in order to minimize the impacts of digitization and automation on their existence. Data from the World Economic Forum shows that the proportion of female workers working in new technology sector is still very minimal.
Director & Chief Strategic Transformation and Information Officer of XL Axiata, Yessie D. Yosetya, who also serves as Chair of G20 EMPOWER said, "The working world has changed at an unprecedented pace driven by the increasing adoption of automation and digitization, and as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic which has changed the direction of various industrial and professional fields. This development has had a major impact on many groups of people around the world, including the possibility of having a negative impact on women workers where the proportion of their gender equality in the digital field is still very low.”
The World Economic Forum's Future of Jobs 2020 report reveals that 84% of businessmen are accelerating their digitization agenda and 50% of businessmen intend to accelerate automation in the workplace. This change is likely to accelerate the elimination of a series of job roles that are increasingly unnecessary in the new world of work, and will also accelerate the creation of new roles that can promote a level of prosperity in the new working world.
Therefore, women workers need to make extra efforts so as not to be left behind, given the current gender gap in some fields of scientific and technical work, as well as skills in leadership. Currently, less than 20% of technology workers are women in many developed countries, and only 1.4% of female workers have jobs developing, maintaining, or operating ICT systems, compared to 5.5% of male workers.
Targeted support is a key factor in achieving gender equality for women, removing barriers to inequality and enabling them to make the necessary transition into more productive and higher-paying jobs. Research suggests that the private sector should invest more in retraining female employees, or partner with other academic institutions to expand skills and competencies for women who represent about 160 million jobs that automation systems will replace.
“As G20 EMPOWER’s Representative for Indonesia, I hope that private sector leaders will work closely with our government to immediately promote and implement policies and actions that are in favour of gender equality that will enable women to participate in the future of various occupations, by narrowing the gender gap and by accelerating the representation of women at the leadership level, especially in underrepresented occupational groups where major growth is expected”, explained Yessie further.
G20 EMPOWER is an alliance that was launched at the G20 Summit in Osaka, Japan in 2019. G20 EMPOWER itself aims to build and support private sector networks in G20 member countries in identifying challenges and supporting gender equality and advancement of women's leadership in the private sector. Indonesia's G20 Empower membership is currently represented by a focal point consisting of representatives from the Ministry of PPPA RI, the Indonesian Women Entrepreneurs Association (IWAPI), and PT XL Axiata Tbk.