Let us work together to promote the participation of women in the labor market, in particular by investing in the ecosystem of early childhood education services as well as in inclusive, universal and quality childcare.

Jakarta (ANTARA) – Women Empowerment and Child Welfare Minister Bintang Puspayoga has encouraged the realization of high quality and inclusive childcare services to increase the number of women entering the world of work.

“We need to reach out to all sectors of development that are effective, and the full participation of women is key to a strong and sustainable economy,” she said in a statement on Friday.

“That can only happen if we remove the structural barriers that hinder them, for example by investing in the childcare economy,” she noted.

The labor force participation rate (TPAK) of women in Indonesia is still lower than that of men, she said.

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“The Indonesian women’s TPAK has been stagnating for about 20 years,” she said.

In February 2022, women’s TPAK was only 54% compared to that of their male counterparts which had reached 84%.

“For women to enter the labor market, they continue to face challenges, such as facing various (forms of) discrimination and inequality in the workplace,” she said.

Puspayoga believes this is due to the unpaid childcare service the women have had to undertake.

This is despite the fact that women have the potential to spur Indonesia’s national economic recovery, she noted.

The Minister emphasized that investing in the childcare economy can improve the prosperity of women and the general public.

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“Furthermore, high-quality and inclusive childcare services will improve the health, cognitive abilities and psychosocial development of children, which ultimately will also pave the way for a higher-quality generation,” she noted.

The Ministry of Puspayoga, within the G20 Women’s Empowerment Ministerial Conference, also raised the issue of childcare economics as one of the three focus areas for discussion in August 2022.

“All parties and all sectors of development must work together,” she said.

“Let us work together to promote the participation of women in the labor market, including by investing in the ecosystem of early childhood education services as well as in inclusive, universal and quality childcare”, she said. declared.

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