ASIATODAY.ID, JAKARTA — Twelve State-Owned Enterprises (SOEs) were introduced today as Indonesia’s First Movers for Family-Friendly Workplaces, marking a significant step toward advancing women’s participation in the workforce through policies that support caregiving, employee wellbeing, and flexible working arrangements.
The initiative responds to Indonesia’s persistently low female labor force participation, where the disproportionate burden of unpaid care work remains a major barrier to women’s career advancement.
Data from Statistics Indonesia (BPS) show that the female labor force participation rate in 2024 stood at56.42 percent, significantly lower than the male participation rate at 84.66 percent. The Australia-Indonesia Partnership for Economic Governance (AIPEG) also noted in 2018 that around 1.7 million women aged 20–24 left their jobs due to marriage or childbirth.
These 12 cross-sector companies are pioneers in developing, piloting, and systematically integrating family-friendly workplace policies. Over the past six months, the companies received intensive mentoring through the WEPs Corporate Action Lab (WEPs CAL), an acceleration programme under the UN Women Gender Action Lab supported by the Government of Australia through the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT). The programme aims to accelerate the implementation of gender equality in the workplace.
“Danantara Respectful and Inclusive Workplace Playbook is an effort to strengthen a healthy, inclusive, and sustainable work culture within state-owned enterprises. Lessons from the WEPs Corporate Action Lab show that workplace transformation needs to be translated into systems, leadership, and daily work practices in order to deliver tangible impact for organizations,” said Wiwik Wahyuni, Senior Director of Human Capital Talent Management and Culture, PT Danantara Asset Management, on May 19, 2026.
“When state-owned enterprises lead the transformation toward family-friendly workplaces, the impact extends beyond internal company policies. It sends a powerful signal that gender equality is the foundation for better workforce productivity and company’s long-term sustainability,” said Ulziisuren Jamsran, UN Women Indonesia Representative and Liaison to ASEAN.
“These 12 First Movers reflect concrete steps by SOEs in building a more inclusive and responsive work culture that meets employees’ needs. We believe that workplaces that support well-being and work-life balance also play an important role in strengthening talent sustainability and organizational performance. Srikandi Danantara is committed to continuing to expand collaboration and encouraging more SOEs to take similar steps,” said A.A.A. Indira Pratyaksa, Interim Chair of Srikandi Danantara.
Hadjar Seti Adji, Vice Chair of the Indonesian Human Capital Forum, said in his remarks, “Let us work together to advance Family-Friendly Workplaces. This is not merely about promoting culture, but about becoming a new way of working with more humane systems that have an impact on workforce productivity.”
More than a set of well-being policies, this initiative demonstrates that family-friendly policies are a business strategy to strengthen talent retention, increase productivity, and build organizations that are adaptive to the needs of the future workforce. Four key solutions have been identified and selected by the 12 SOE First Movers, namely:
Strengthening Paternity Leave and Men’s Engagement
PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero), Perum Perumnas, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk, and PT Bio Farma (Persero) have strengthened paternity leave policies, monitoring, and organizational mindset change related to men’s engagement in care work.
Mental Health and Flexible Working Arrangements
PT Bank Tabungan Negara (Persero) Tbk, PT PLN (Persero), Perusahaan Umum Lembaga Penyelenggara Pelayanan Navigasi Penerbangan Indonesia/AirNav Indonesia, PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (Persero)/MIND ID, and PT Aviasi Pariwisata Indonesia (Persero)/InJourney have developed compressed working time arrangements, evaluations of hybrid working policies, and employee assistance programmes in collaboration with psychologists.
Care Infrastructure
PT PLN (Persero), PT Mineral Industri Indonesia (Persero)/MIND ID, and PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk/WIKA have strengthened support for Family-Friendly Workplaces through the standardization of daycare, the provision of lactation rooms, and the development of technical guidelines for managing care facilities.
Women’s Leadership and Caregiver Support
PT Pupuk Indonesia (Persero), Perum Perumnas, PT Wijaya Karya (Persero) Tbk/WIKA, PT Pelabuhan Indonesia (Persero)/Pelindo, Bank Mandiri and PT Pertamina (Persero) have developed initiatives on work flexibility, mentoring, inclusive recruitment policies, as well as support for caregivers.
The solutions potentially reaching approximately 15,000 employees of these State-Owned Enterprises.
Lessons learned from the WEPsCAL programme were shared at today’s Public Showcase event, “Driving the Transformation of Inclusive and Family-Friendly Workplaces”. On the same occasion, the WEPsCAL Cohort 1 achievements book was launched, summarizing best practices as well as challenges, achievements, and development plans, which is expected to serve as learning and encourage replication across SOEs.
The success of these First Movers shows that transformation towards more inclusive and family-friendly workplaces can be achieved through cross-sector collaboration. UN Women, together with Danantara Indonesia and Srikandi Danantara, invites more SOEs and private companies to replicate these practices as part of efforts to build a more equal, adaptive, and sustainable world of work in Indonesia.
On the same occasion, the Danantara Respectful & Inclusive Workplace Playbook was launched as a practical guide for SOEs in building more inclusive and family-friendly workplaces, complementing the efforts of the WEPs Corporate Action Lab to advance workplace culture transformation across Indonesia. (AT Network)
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