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Unilever Indonesia Continues to Strengthen Commitment Towards a Gender Equal World
The World Economic Forum estimates that empowering women to participate equally in the global economy could add 28 trillion US dollars in Global Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 2025.
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Chair of the B20 Women in Business Council (B20 WiBAC) and Unilever Indonesia President Director, Ira Noviarti, presenting the B20 WiBAC Policy & Action Recommendation at the 2022 B20 Summit.
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he World Economic Forum estimates that empowering women to participate equally in the global economy could add 28 trillion US dollars in Global Domestic Product (GDP) growth by 2025. This potential can be clearly seen in Indonesia where 61 percent of Indonesian women contributed to the nation’s economy, and 50 percent of the 60 million MSMEs are owned by women. This is very important considering that MSMEs in Indonesia absorb 96.9% of the workforce.
The business sector play an important role in making this progress. In fact, there has been many organizations that have already started driving progress towards this mission, including Unilever Indonesia and Tokopedia. To nurture digital capabilities, the FMCG and ecommerce giants recently collaborated in a program that focuses on digital adoption and the development of women-owned micro, small and medium enterprises (MSMEs). Both organizations are committed to expanding access to information, assistance of businesses in the digital era, and technical entrepreneurship training.
This Unilever-Tokopedia collaboration was initiated under the One Global Women Empowerment (OGWE) platform, a legacy project of B20 Women in Business Action Council (WiBAC). The OGWE platform serves as a supply-demand tool, bringing together parties who need and parties who can assist in empowering women workers and entrepreneurs everywhere.
“We are proud that the B20 WiBAC’s legacy programs and themes are very much in line with what Unilever Indonesia strives for as an organization that puts forward equality, diversity and inclusivity,” said Ira Noviarti, President Director of Unilever Indonesia.
Unilever Indonesia continues to strengthen its commitment towards Equity, Diversity, and Inclusion (ED&I), including promoting equal opportunities for Indonesian women in the economy and business sector.
“Unilever Indonesia has consistently focused on issues related to ED&I and gender equality in Indonesia for many decades. For Unilever Indonesia, women are integral part our business because most of our consumers are women, and many of our suppliers, partners, and employees are women. That is why we have various women empowerment programs, both internally and externally, and not just at a corporate level, but also through our brands,” says Ira.
She added that the commitment to empower women is in line with ‘The Unilever Compass’, the company’s belief that business growth must also be sustainable to bring positive impact to the community and the environment. One of the Unilever Compass pillars is to contribute to a fairer, more socially inclusive world. Unilever Indonesia delivers this by, among others, supporting more women to thrive in the economy and business sector through the appointment of Ira Noviarti, President Director of Unilever Indonesia, as Chair of B20 WiBAC.
At the B20 Summit 2022 held on 13-14 November 2022, which was a part of the G20 event series in Nusa Dua Bali, Ira Noviarti, as Chair of B20 WiBAC, officially delivered the council’s final Policy & Action Recommendation at a joint session with Future of Work & Education taskforce.
The B20 WiBAC recommends proven and actionable steps that the G20 governments can take to improve gender equality in the workforce, as well as practical steps to build, accelerate, and scale women-led businesses. This policy and action recommendation developed by the B20 WiBAC members, consisting of 150 top business executives across various countries and industries, focuses on three strategic imperatives: (1) Empowering women entrepreneurs, (2) Enabling women’s digital and leadership capabilities, and (3) Promoting safe and equitable workplace.
Further, Ira said that following the presidential directives for all task forces to deliver tangible actions, B20 WiBAC also initiated OGWE as a concrete step that supports the realization of the final Policy and Action Recommendation. “The opportunity in the global economy through equal participation of women in business is too huge to be missed. We understand that recommendations like this require critical support in providing safe and accessible infrastructure for all stakeholders, which led us to initiate a platform called One Global Empowerment (OGWE).”
To ensure full operation and continuity of OGWE, the B20 WiBAC officially handed over this legacy project to the International Organisation of Employer (IOE) at the B20 Summit 2022. Representing more than 50 million businesses through 150 national employers` organizations, IOE is the largest private sector network in the world. For more than 100 years, IOE has been the Secretariat of the Employers’ Group in the International Labour Organisations. Moving forward, IOE will bring OGWE to full operations as the secretariat.
OGWE is expected to advance women’s participation in the global economy by strengthening women’s leadership capabilities, increasing job security for women in the informal economy, and establishing the mechanism for monitoring gender issues. The immediate next step for OGWE is to develop its go-to market strategy and deliver the platform’s technology-based service called 5C - Crowdsource, Crowdfund, Curate, Clarify, and Communication.
“We are confident that the International Organisation of Employers will continue OGWE’s legacy to promote equal and fair participation by strengthening women’s leadership capabilities, increasing job security for women in the informal economy, and establishing the mechanism for monitoring gender issues. We look forward to seeing a concerted effort to adopt all recommendations and for the B20 and G20 to support our recommendations in full, as well as step up and hold themselves accountable for the significant role we can play,” says Ira.
Ira continued that within the company, Unilever Indonesia continues to uphold and promote a fair and safe workplace for all. The company adheres to a strict ethical code called the Respect, Dignity & Fair Treatment (RDFT). This code ensures that all employees get to work in an environment that promotes diversity, has mutual trust, respects human rights, and provides equal opportunities for both men and women without discrimination.
As an effort to support women leadership, six out of eleven members of Unilever Indonesia’s Board of Directors, including the President Director, are currently held by women. Meanwhile, 50 percent of senior managerial positions are also occupied by female employees.
“These are examples of the business sector’s contribution to advance innovative, inclusive, and collaborative economic growth and development. I believe we are on the right track in delivering the aspirations of B20 WiBAC, envisioning a future where more women can lead, participate and have access to better business and economic opportunities,” Ira said.
“Together, we welcome a generation of women who are skilled, resilient and empowered to support the national and global economic recovery,” she concluded.
