Promoting women’s participation in science and technology sectors in Indonesia

Discussion session with the staff of J.P Morgan in Jakarta In conjunction with the commemoration of the International Day of Women and Girls in Science which falls on 11 February, the ILO in collaboration with J.P. Morgan conducted a Brown Bag Lunch – Women in STEM Programme in Jakarta. The event was aimed to raise the awareness of J.P. Morgan’s staff in Jakarta regarding the importance of greater involvement of women and girls in fields related to science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

We are glad that we can participate in this programme. Through this brown bag programme, we seek to have a greater involvement and engagement of J.P Morgan’s staff in this good programme, addressing the lacking of women in STEM-related fields. We aim to have better impacts of the programme."

Hariyanto T. Budiman, Senior Country Officer of J.P.Morgan Indonesia

J.P. Morgan Chase Foundation supported and funded the ILO’s Women in STEM Workforce Readiness & Development Project, seeking to strengthen linkages between private sector firmsand vocational training centres. The Project is implemented in Indonesia, Thailand and the Philippines. In Indonesia, the Project focuses on automotive and ICT sectors, which are identified as a high-growth sectors and present significant skills gap but also opportunities for growth.

“We are glad that we can participate in this programme. Through this brown bag programme, we seek to have a greater involvement and engagement of J.P Morgan’s staff in this good programme, addressing the lacking of women in STEM-related fields. We aim to have better impacts of the programme,” stated Hariyanto T. Budiman, Senior Country Officer of J.P.Morgan Indonesia.

Kazutoshi Chatani, ILO Employment Specialist, explained the roles of the ILO on skills development to improve the employability of pre-employed youth, capacity of workers, as well as the productivity of enterprises. He also appreciated the support given by J.P Morgan on skills development, particularly for women in STEM.

Cornelia Hirania Wiryasti, Coordinator of the ILO’s STEM Project explained about the programme strategies and activities The event presented three resource persons. Cornelia Hirania Wiryasti, Coordinator of the ILO’s STEM Project explained about the programme strategies and activities in promoting and supporting STEM for women. The second presentation was from Maya Juwita, Executive Director of Indonesia Business Coalition for Women Empowerment, as one of the Project’s partners. She highlighted the activities taken by her organization to promote STEM programme and to support women workers empowerment and career advancement at the enterprises level.

Meanwhile a testimony was given by Dessy Permalasari, a graduate of the ILO’s STEM training and apprenticeship programme, sharing her experience joining the programme at the automotive sector as a motorcycle mechanic.

The presentations were followed with a discussion on female workers and their presumed dual-role in Indonesia, Indonesia’s regulations on employment and identification of joint activities that could be done together between the ILO-STEM and J.P Morgan to have more women in STEM-related fields. The event was concluded with the statement from Charles Gultom, Senior Country Business Manager of J.P. Morgan Indonesia, conveying the readiness of J.P. Morgan’s staff to be engaged in the ILO-STEM activities through their staff engagement programme.