Observation (CEACR) - adopted 2020, published 109th ILC session (2021)

Discrimination (Employment and Occupation) Convention, 1958 (No. 111) - Indonesia (Ratification: 1999)

Articles 2 and 3 of the Convention. Equality of opportunity for men and women. In its previous observation, the Committee asked the Government to continue taking specific measures, in cooperation with the social partners, to address the significant level of occupational gender segregation and to provide information on the results achieved, including with respect to the implementation of the Strategic Action Plan 2013–19 formulated by the National Task Force on Equal Employment Opportunities (EEO). In addition, the Committee asked the Government to: (1) provide detailed information on the measures taken to promote gender equality in the public sector, including measures to improve the representation of women among regular staff; and (2) continue providing detailed statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various posts and occupations in the public service. The Committee notes the Government’s indication in its report that it has carried out various awareness-raising and capacity-building activities on equality and non-discrimination under the National Strategic Action Plan. However, it notes that the Government has not provided details of the action taken and the results achieved in addressing occupational gender segregation. Concerning the promotion of gender equality in the public sector, the Committee notes that the Government refers to Regulation No. 14 of 2018 on the recruitment process and indicates that it is based on the candidates’ competencies. The Government adds that women represent 51 per cent of the total of 4.1 million civil servants.

The Committee notes that, according to the ILO Database of Labour Statistics (ILOSTAT), 51 per cent of working age women participate in the workforce, compared with 78 per cent of working age men. It also notes from the ILO research brief “Leading to success: The business case for women in business and management in Indonesia”, June 2020 (ILO Women in Science, Technology, Engineering and Mathematics (STEM) project), that women are over-represented in temporary and part-time employment and comprise the majority of employees in the services sector. Concerning women in agriculture, the Committee notes from the report of the United Nations Special Rapporteur on the right to food on her visit to Indonesia that women working in agriculture receive lower pay compared with men and that many of them work informally under precarious conditions (A/HRC/40/56/Add.2, 28 December 2018, paragraph 54). The Committee also notes from the same source that the Laws on Food (No. 18/2012), Farmers’ Protection and Empowerment (No. 19/2013) and Protection and Empowerment of Fisherfolk, Fish Farmers and Salt Farmers (No. 7/2016) do not explicitly recognize women as stakeholders. The Special Rapporteur emphasizes in this regard that “laws that do recognize women consider their role as part of a household, rather than as an integral part of food production. This lack of adequate recognition further undermines the rights of women to social security and welfare programmes and delegitimizes women as agricultural workers” (paragraph 55). In light of the above, the Committee encourages the Government to undertake, in cooperation with the social partners, an assessment of the measures adopted so far to promote equality of opportunity and treatment for men and women in employment and occupation, in both the private and public sectors, including the measures adopted under the Strategic Action Plan 2013–19 of the EEO, and to provide information on the results achieved, the obstacles identified and any follow-up action envisaged and implemented, including with regard to occupational gender segregation. The Committee also asks the Government to: (i) indicate whether a new Action Plan has been prepared by the EEO Task Force; (ii) provide information on the measures adopted to promote the application of the principle of the Convention to men and women rural workers; and (iii) provide updated statistical information on the distribution of men and women in the various sectors, occupations and positions, in the formal and informal economies.

Article 3(e). Access to vocational training and guidance. In its previous observation, the Committee asked the Government to: (1) take further measures to promote women’s access to a wider range of vocational training courses and occupations, including those in which men traditionally participate and those leading to opportunities for advancement, and provide information on the results achieve; and (2) continue providing detailed statistical information, disaggregated by sex, on the labour force participation rates in the various sectors and occupations in the formal and informal economies, and on the number of men and women participating in vocational training, specifying the type of courses attended. The Committee notes the Government’s indication that it has made efforts to increase the population’s access to training centres. The Committee also notes from the statistical information provided by the Government that women represented 37.7 per cent of all trainees in 2018 and that the largest number of women participated in training on business and management, garment, apparel, processing and beauty. The Committee further notes from the ILO research brief “Leading to success: The business case for women in business and management in Indonesia” that: (1) more women graduate from tertiary education than men and, more particularly, that women accounted for 16 per cent of those graduating from tertiary education in 1993, and that this figure rose to 59 per cent in 2018; and (2) although the majority (63 per cent) of tertiary graduates in STEM disciplines continue be men, more women are taking up STEM fields and occupations.. The Committee notes that, although some progress has been made in this regard, gender segregation in skills training appears to persist. The Committee asks the Government to step up its efforts to promote women’s access to a wider range of vocational training courses and occupations, including those in which men traditionally participate and those leading to opportunities for advancement, and to provide information on the results achieved and statistical information on the number of men and women participating in vocational training, with an indication of the types of courses attended.

The Committee is raising other matters in a request addressed directly to the Government.