Enhancing gender equality within Indonesian trade union organizations with Participatory Gender Audit

DEPOK, West Java, Indonesia (ILO News) - Twenty-eight leaders of the National Trade Union (SPN) from various levels participated in the participatory gender audit workshop conducted by the ILO’s Strengthening Industrial Relations in Indonesia (SIRI) project on 11 July. The workshop aimed to examine the progresses made and challenges faced to the Participatory Gender Audit (PGA) within SPN that has been conducted since February and will be concluded in August 2024.

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Facilitated by Ida Ruwaida, a lecturer from the Faculty of Social and Political Science of University of Indonesia, the PGA has applied participatory and consultative approaches that involves SPN’s all relevant stakeholders. The PGA has also comprehensively assessed the organization's gender-related policies, practices, and attitudes. Using the ILO’s PGA Modules, developed by its International Training Centre (ITC) in Turin, the PGA has included extensive desk reviews of gender mainstreaming in policies and programmes, semi-structured individual and focus group interviews, collective workshops and a staff survey.

This collaborative effort marks a significant step towards advancing gender equality and inclusivity within Indonesian trade unions, especially in our organization

Purwanto, SPN’s Deputy General Secretary 

Nurus Mufidah, Coordinator of the ILO’s SIRI project, explained that the six-month PGA aimed to strengthen women's participation and leadership within SPN by providing strategic recommendations for future improvements and wider involvement of women. “This is a pioneering initiative to promote inclusivity within trade unions. By enhancing gender equality within trade union organizations in the garment and textile industry, we hope to eliminate discriminatory practices against women garment workers.”

Despite their dominancy, women workers in the garment sector still face discrimination in recruitment, job assignment, wages, and reproductive rights, as well as are vulnerable to workplace harassment and violence. They are also less likely to join or have decision-making power in trade unions.

“This participatory approach ensures that diverse perspectives are incorporated, fostering a culture of continuous improvement and gender equality within the organization. Upon completion, the ILO’s SIRI project will present its results and recommendations to SPN to further enhance gender equality within the organization and to formulate comprehensive policies,” Nurus added. 

Purwanto, SPN’s Deputy General Secretary, greatly appreciated the participatory gender-audit initiative. He acknowledged the need to enhance gender knowledge dissemination across its diverse memberships to foster inclusive policies effectively.

“We have implemented various initiatives, including forming a Women's Committee and conducting workshops to address these issues. This collaborative effort marks a significant step towards advancing gender equality and inclusivity within Indonesian trade unions, especially in our organization,” Purwanto said.

Funded by the Canadian Government, the ILO’s SIRI Project aims to build the capacity of garment sector workers and their representatives to effectively organize and represent all workers in Indonesia’s garment sector. and participate more actively and inclusively in key national policy advocacy.