More for Girls?
Michael S.
Proud Indonesian. Education for Sustainable Development / Public Policy / Healthcare and Life Science.
As we look at World Children's Day today, I cannot but reflect on my own childhood. Like many medium-income families in Southeast Asia, having a caretaker or nanny is quite the norm. My family had Kasriani (Kas), who started working in her twenties, marrying young and getting divorced after having two sons, she eventually stayed with our family for almost thirty years, before eventually retiring to Blitar, after both her sons graduated from Vocational Schools in the big city and were able to have a better life.
Being relatively new to the development sector, I was quite distant from the social mobility challenges in Indonesia and needless to say, I cannot be sure whether Kas eventually climbed the social economic ladder. Eventually, however, in trying to help out women in need in the community for education access for their kids in the hope of facilitating a better life, interestingly, many had been met with refusal preferring immediate intervention in the form of food, cash, or healthcare, and not the long-term "upgrade" for their kids' education.
Girls (and Boys) in Crises
The SDGs proposed that in 2030 (less than seven years away), all boys and girls should be able to access equitable opportunities, at least first, through quality education, nutrition and health, however, girls today are the most vulnerable, especially in times of crisis, whether it is disasters, unwanted divorces, economic downturns, the pandemic, or war. Plan International Girls in Crisis report shows that they face multiple forms of discrimination and violence based on their age and gender as they are more likely to be separated from their families or caregivers, which exposes them to abuse and exploitation. Girls are even often forced to marry early or engage in transactional sex to survive or support their families, which increases their risk of unwanted pregnancies, sexually transmitted infections, and gender-based violence. Not to mention that until today, girls have less access to education, health care, and psychosocial support in crisis settings, which affects their physical and mental well-being, as is shown also in the UN Women Orange the World report.
In a world where restrictive norms and attitudes towards girls still exist, the disparities in the fulfilment of their rights and dignity will leave a large unwanted gap for all of us. Even today, we still see that women at all levels of life and sectors still have less freedom of movement and participation in decision-making processes, which limits their opportunities and voice.
In Indonesia, according to a report by the ILO, women account for only 35% of STEM graduates and only 8% of STEM workers. Women are also concentrated in lower-skilled and lower-paid STEM occupations, such as technicians and clerks, while men dominate the higher-skilled and higher-paid STEM occupations, such as engineers and managers. The report also found that women in STEM earn 28% less than men in STEM, and 18% less than women in non-STEM.
For comparison, the social mobility of women in STEM in neighbouring countries such as Malaysia, Singapore, and Thailand is still relatively higher than in Indonesia, due to various factors such as better education systems, stronger gender policies, and more diversified economies. For example, in Malaysia, women account for 42% of STEM graduates, and 28% of STEM workers, and have more opportunities to enter the high-growth sectors of ICT and biotechnology. In Singapore, women account for 40% of STEM graduates, and 30% of STEM workers, and have more access to training and development programs in STEM fields. In Thailand, women account for 44% of STEM graduates, and 25% of STEM workers, and have more support from the government and private sector to enter and advance in STEM careers.
On the other tip of the scale, the top 3 countries where social mobility for women is highest are Denmark, Norway, and Finland, according to the Global Social Mobility Index. These countries have strong welfare systems, gender policies, and education systems that promote equal opportunities and social inclusion. Women in these countries have more access to quality education, health care, and social protection, as well as more voice and agency in decision-making and leadership roles. They also have more opportunities to enter and advance in STEM fields, and to balance their work and family responsibilities.
However, these countries still face challenges and gaps in gender equality, such as the gender pay gap, the gender gap in leadership positions, and the gender gap in STEM fields.
In enhancing further social mobility, it is crucial to address the gender norms and biases that constrain women’s potential and empowerment and to provide more support and opportunities for women, and this is very true for accessing and benefiting from STEM education and careers. It is also important to learn from the experiences and best practices of neighbouring countries and top-performing countries and to adapt and implement them in the local context. Potentially, in the Indonesian context, women can contribute largely to the economic and social development of the country, as well as to the overall country's well-being and happiness.
The Need for All of Us to Come Together
Although the negativities around girls are amplified in times of crisis, it also tells us that the world around us is not prepared to provide equitable opportunities and just spaces for both girls and boys. Still, much work needs to be done to ensure all children can have the means to reach their full potential.
We may argue that governments or the "state" have failed to provide equitable social mobility for children (especially girls) and thus men still get the most opportunity, this is especially challenging in middle and low-income countries according to World Bank and the report from WEF (Gender Gap, 2022) caused by:
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These factors create a vicious and horrific cycle of gender inequality and poverty, which hinders the social and economic development of countries and regions, widening since the COVID-19 pandemic, and it will take 132 years to reach gender parity at the current pace (Gender Gaps in Relative Mobility, Brookings, 2021).
Unfortunately, this is not new! Data from the World Bank shows that the gender gap in earnings and human capital wealth has persisted for decades, and is larger in low and middle-income countries than in high-income countries. This long-standing condition had caused a loss of global wealth that according to the World Bank estimates, a jarring $160 trillion in wealth due to earnings gaps between women and men. Assuming that the share of middle-income countries in the global wealth is about 30%, the potential gain for these countries could be around $48 trillion if we were to turn around things for girls.
Additionally, according to the IMF, increasing female labour force participation to the male level could raise GDP by an average of 35% in low and middle-income countries. This implies that closing the gender gap in labour force participation could increase the annual GDP growth rate by about 1.75 percentage points in these countries.
In a country like Indonesia that aims to increase its income from the current level to high-income levels in 20 years with an average of 6% annually, getting girls on the right track is imperative!
For All Girls and Boys
We all need to know that closing gender gaps, especially in middle-income countries is not only a moral and social imperative but also a smart and strategic investment for sustainable development and inclusive growth. It is in the interest of all stakeholders, including governments, businesses, civil society, and international organizations, to work together to close gender gaps and empower women and girls for the next 20 years (at least).
The good news is even between 2020 and 2023, we can see a significant increase in gender-lens investments and initiative, such as AVPN Gender-Lens Collaborative Funding, Global Partnership for Education that promotes Girls' Education and provide matching funding, and many more.
However, sustainability and partnership remains the key to having a lasting impact. Therefore, for the next 6 years towards 2030 (as it stands for the SDGs - gender equity is one of the big goals) in a progressive manner, we all must leverage our expertise and resources across different sectors and themes, such as education, health, protection, livelihoods, governance, and gender equality to allow room to advocate the adoption of a more gendered approach and provide best practice sharing and working hand-in-hand with the government, CSOs, philanthropic giving and other stakeholders to foster constructive and collaborative engagement process, where governments and all stakeholders can come together combining each other's strengths and resources, and address each other's gaps and challenges.
An orchestration is needed in which:
The Next Five Years for Indonesia
In this coming year 2024, in Indonesia, it is time to advocate for women representatives on many levels, as it is a crucial time to accelerate things for girls and women. According to the World Bank's Indonesia Gender Equality program, in 2021, Indonesia’s female labour force participation rate is still comparatively low, around 53%. Sadly, this has remained unchanged for over two decades despite structural changes to the economy, gains in education, declining early marriage rates, and lower fertility.
Furthermore, the gap between men and women in labour force participation rate is one of the largest in the region at around 30%. World Bank's Country Gender Assessment for Indonesia conducted in 2020 found that while Indonesia is actively looking to improve competitiveness and create jobs through different labour market policies and programs, many of these efforts present inherent bias, contributing to occupational sex segregation and channelling women into lower productivity and lower-paying jobs. While women own about 60% of Indonesia’s micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs), they are very much overrepresented among micro-enterprises, and their growth aspirations are hindered by lower access to credit and markets than male-owned businesses.
As mentioned earlier, even as Indonesia moves toward middle-class jobs and the growth of manufacturing and services sectors, the work-care nexus is becoming a constraint to women’s ability to seek paid work. The scarcity of affordable and quality childcare services prompts many women to stop working outside the home. To meet the unmet need for family care, many women drop out of the labour market after marriage and childbirth and only return as small-scale entrepreneurs or self-employed workers.
There are examples of policies that the government can implement from the Global South perspective. In Brazil for example, as part of bringing women back into the workforce, the country provided a country-wide transformation to Early Childhood Education and added the child care component for all mothers, which enables women to return to work as fast as their child is seven months old. Rather than leaving their child in unconducive and neglected care settings, women were able to bring their kids to full-day childcare at all Early Childhood Centers (Creches) where professionally trained caregivers would provide care, meals, play, and cognitive stimulations for children starting at seven months until they are six years old before joining formal education.
According to the World Bank, if Indonesia increased public expenditure on childcare services to 0.5% of its GDP from its current share of 0.04%, the female labour force participation rate would increase to 58% and the economy would grow by an additional $62 billion or 0.7 percentage points. Supporting investments in the care economy can deliver long-term human capital gains for the future, as well as leading to improvements in employment and the earnings of women, improvements in firm productivity, and job creation. But this is just one of the long list of initiatives and policies surrounding the issue.
It will need all of us to come together for all girls and boys, and it needs to be now, starting with asking ourselves, "Are we investing (enough) in girls?"