26 January, Jakarta – Increasing the participation of women in politics and government across Indonesia is the focus of a workshop opening today in Jakarta. Members of the House of Representatives, Members of the House of Regional Representatives, ministries, commissions, international institutions, academia and representatives of civil society organizations will gather to discuss the challenges currently faced by women not only in terms of political parties and positions, but also with regards to public offices including public institutions, the Courts and the Civil Service. 

 

Public officials, representatives of public institutions and academics will present the key challenges faced by Indonesian women, the impact of women’s participation, current strategies employed by advocates and initiatives already being undertaken by key stakeholders in the field.

 

Workshop participants will strategize around the key priorities required to increase women’s participation in politics in government – and focus on realistic goals to bridge the current gaps we find facing Indonesian women.

 

While increasing the number of women involved in politics and government is important, the focus must also be on increasing the quality of women’s lives in Indonesia. To this end, Eva K. Sundari (Anggota DPR RI), a woman Member of Parliament will offer a presentation on enhancing gender responsive policy.  

 

Carlos Haddad, Deputy Country Director of UNDP noted that “This workshop is timely – in the recent 2009 General Election, results show that the number of women legislators at the House of Representatives grew from 11.5% to 18 – and the number in the Regional House of Representatives jumped from 20 to 27%. But women are still under represented here, as well as in the civil service – for example, women constitute only 9% of Echelon 1 officials.”

 

This workshop will contribute to important dialogue about participation in public life in Indonesia, and provide concrete inputs that will lead to the formulation of concrete policy recommendations to enhance the role of women in the public sphere, both in government and politics.

 

 

Karoline Kemp, Programme Officer

Email: karoline.kemp@undp.org