In an effort to strengthen the role of women in various sectors of sustainable development, Universitas Indonesia (UI), through its business unit PT Leadership Development Center (LDC), held the Indonesia Women Leaders Forum 2024 at Menara Mandiri, Assembly Hall, Jakarta, on May 29-30, 2024. The women’s leadership forum, which is held annually, this time raised the theme “Women Leaders for Sustainability: The Role of Women Leaders for an Advanced and Sustainable Indonesia”.
The forum was attended by the Ministerial Expert Staff for Energy at the Ministry of Environment and Forestry, Prof. Dr. Haruni Krisnawati, S.Hut., M.Si., who delivered remarks from the Minister of Environment and Forestry, Prof. Dr. Ir. Siti Nurbaya Bakar, M.Sc. She said that the Indonesia Women Leaders Forum 2024 was useful to strengthen the understanding of Indonesian women leaders about sustainability. “Sustainability is an important issue for the business world and any organization, even becoming a global concern through the Sustainability Development Goals (SDGs) launched by the United Nations. Therefore, UI’s socialization on understanding the application of sustainability will make a positive contribution to society,” said Prof. Haruni.
Currently, the Indonesian government has encouraged sustainable development by providing facilities for businesses that prioritize aspects of sustainability or environmental sustainability. One of them is through the improvement of three laws related to the environment and forestry, namely Law No. 32 of 2009 concerning Environmental Protection and Management, Law No. 41 of 1999 concerning Forestry, and Law No. 18 of 2013 concerning Prevention and Eradication of Forest Damage. In addition, the government also encourages the application of green economy in the financial industry, including supporting the sustainable finance program initiated by the Financial Services Authority (OJK).
Environmental sustainability and preservation efforts require the role of all parties, including women. According to UI Secretary, dr. Agustin Kusumayati, M.Sc., Ph.D, women play an important role in sustainability starting from the smallest scope, namely the household, to the highest level in government. In the household sphere, she gave an example that environmental sustainability can be realized if family members are wise in using water and electricity, and are good at sorting and managing waste.
Meanwhile, in the highest sphere, namely government, women leaders display many characteristics of transformational leadership, such as showing compassion, sensitivity and kindness, as well as improving communication, mutual trust, and team collaboration. This is because women are naturally trained to make decisions for the good of those around them. The life that is carried during pregnancy also trains women to think about how to maintain the continuity of life and make it quality.
“Women will be the first teachers of life for children. Proper education for women encourages character development and opens up opportunities for a better quality of life. Therefore, women play a role in the government’s development plan, which is to improve the quality of human resources. In addition, several points in the SDGs also support efforts to fulfill women’s rights, gender equality and justice, and gender mainstreaming in development,” said Dr. Agustin.
Women indeed occupy a crucial position in sustainable development because the number of Indonesian women is almost half of the total population. Based on data from the Central Bureau of Statistics (February 2023), the number of Indonesian women is 136.3 million out of a total population of 275.7 million. Indonesia also has the fourth highest number of female leaders in the world based on the International Grant Thornton Business Report 2020. In fact, the Ministry of SOEs targets 25% of women to occupy top leadership positions in SOEs by 2023 (srikandibumn.org).
UI LDC Chairwoman, Cut Saskia Rachman, said that these conditions encourage UI to provide education, enrichment, and training for women because important decisions that impact the public are determined by women. She said, “The two-day Indonesia Women Leaders Forum 2024 aims to broaden horizons, inspire and strengthen leadership values, strengthen networks, and build collaboration among women leaders. This second forum presents the best speakers in their fields to provide experience and inspiration for forum participants.”
“We are very grateful for partners support who collaborated in organizing this activity, such as Bank Mandiri, Lembaga Penjamin Simpanan (LPS), Pertamina, BRI, Mandiri Taspen, Medco, Stock Exchange, Mind.Id, Garuda, and others. All were made possible through excellent collaboration. The Indonesia Women Leaders Forum this time also presents an MSME bazaar in line with the theme of this event,” said Cut Saskia.
UI Leadership Development Center (LDC)
PT Leadership Development Center is one of the special business units under Universitas Indonesia engaged in non-degree leadership training. UI LDC organizes conferences/forums and public trainings, “in-house trainings”, international edu-trips, and trainings according to the needs of companies/organizations in supporting leadership development. Follow us on social media @ui.ldc., @ui_ldc, UI Leadership Development Center.
