Supporting Gender Equality in Startup Ecosystems

2019 is arguably the year entrepreneur women in Indonesia. More and more female-founded startup and targeting women and fresh cash flow of investors supporting the growth of the femtech business. The startup ecosystem is considered to provide openness and opportunities for women to work. Slowly but surely, gender equality in Indonesia is happening in various technology startups.

"Accepting women as leaders in companies is not just about achieving gender equality. It can also lead to better outcomes. Many studies have shown that diverse and inclusive work environments are more productive and happier than their homogeneous counterparts, " said Managing Director Digitaraya Nicole Yap.

In this month's edition of Kartini, DailySocial explores challenges and smart ways for women to complete tasks while taking care of the household.

Technology opens up opportunities

According to industry leaders, technology directly opens up opportunities for women to make more contributions to the company. According to Ovo's CFO Sharly Rungkat, the number of women working in technology companies is starting to increase. Not only establishing startups, women are starting to target jobs that were previously dominated by men.

"I see the technology industry as probably growing faster than other industries in hiring employees regardless of gender. Personally, from my experience working in New York or in Jakarta, I am fortunate enough to be considered by the people I work with fairly "At Ovo, we certainly do recruitment based on meritocracy. I see many female leaders in our organization who can have their own department without having gender differences," said Sherly.

Meritocracy is also applied by CEO Kotoko Cynthia Krisanti. According to him, companies in the technology industry have adopted or are moving towards a meritocratic culture. These companies already have work plans or structures that are goal-oriented and performance appraisals based on quantitative results.

By being meritocratic, companies in the tech industry can minimize, if not eliminate, gender bias in the workplace. A productive work environment has been widely applied by the technology industry.

The next step, which can be taken by working women, is to be more courageous in making decisions.

"I've been fortunate enough to experience gender equality throughout my career in the tech industry. As a leader, I have to be prepared to make imperfect decisions every day, and learn from them. Mistakes are inevitable, but what matters to leaders is how they react. to this mistake and come back even better," Cynthia said.

SVP Transport Marketing really feels the openness and opportunities provided by startups Gojek Monita Moerdani. She sees a supportive work environment and appreciation from male co-workers that encourages a more positive work atmosphere.

"At least in the technology companies I work for, women's inclusion is a major topic. I see real efforts from companies to improve gender equality in terms of leadership. At the same time they have inspired a generation of young women to pursue careers in fields that are less popular among they [like engineering]. I think it needs to be done both ways," said Monita.

Companies also need to provide equal opportunities for women in the recruitment and career development process. They ensure that fields that are currently male dominated can attract more women.

"I also believe that the technology industry is a place where a person can and should be evaluated based on his abilities. Therefore, the fact that you are male or female, should be irrelevant. I really wish I was where I am now because I have the qualifications and the right skills for the job, not because I'm a woman engineer," said DANA VP Engineering Ignatia Suwarna.

Role as mentor

Not only the ability to align team members, female leaders in tech startups must also be able to become mentors to motivate their team members. This role was felt right by Tokopedia's Software Engineer Lead (Fintech), Vania Christie Chandra. As a Lead, he is given the trust to build and equip talent a software engineer with new perspectives and skills.

"As a mentor who manages 15 digital talents, I continue to try to find out all the team's needs from every aspect as well as provide full support so that they continue to work through technology," said Vania.

Sharly also feels the role as a mentor, who has been responsible for supporting the business growth of one of the largest digital ecosystems in Indonesia. In managing Ovo, Sharly must combine all business strategies, improvement processes and financial persistence to ensure the continued growth of OVO. Managing internal and external factors will be very important to keep the company stable agile adjust to economic conditions.

The biggest challenge that many female entrepreneurs face is the lack of networks. Not only in Indonesia but also regionally. With that reason  Simona Accelerator launched in 2019 which brings together the entrepreneur women in Indonesia and the region. For more women to get into technology and startups, Gojek also have programs Gojek Xcelerate the one in one batchHer team is committed to developing the 10 best startups by women from Indonesia and Asia Pacific.

Manage family and work affairs

One of the obstacles often felt by working women is determining priorities between personal life and work. They must be able to manage all responsibilities at home and in the office. The method that is mostly applied by them is to share tasks with their husbands and not only burden household matters to one party.

"I'm lucky enough that I work in an organization that supports me to be at home most days when my kids come back from daily activities. Before they go to bed, I try to have some quality and fun time with them. go to sleep, I go back to work," said Ignatia.

Everyone has their own uniqueness. What all working women need to pay attention to is that they don't have to worry about the approach used to manage their family and work. Do what is considered the most ideal as a wife and a leader in the company.

"I don't think it's easy to balance career and family. However, the advantage that women have is their ability to handle multiple tasks. Living in Indonesia has definitely helped in terms of having a support system. Personally it can be quite challenging at times. As a female professional "I think we tend to automatically assume family, household and work responsibilities. So for me, having the right to work and a home environment, with a supportive partner, team, co-workers and boss is the key to success," said Sharly.

The same is true for women who are married and do not have children. The freedom and opportunity to determine the ideal time to gather with your partner and continue your work is felt right as long as you are a leader at a startup.

"Personally, I don't have any experience as a parent. I'm married but don't have children. To share a little personal experience, my partner and I have agreed on an equal division of responsibilities. We don't believe that taking care of the house is just the wife's job. that, for me, with a family of two [just me, my husband and 2 dogs], my duty as a wife is quite simple, work-life balance achievable," Cynthia said.

For those who are single, the facilities provided by the company become their own motivation to work. One of them is a playroom and child care while their mother or father is at work. This facility has been offered by many startups, including Tokopedia.

"Even though I'm not married yet, what I can say is that in addition to providing flexibility in office hours and various other facilities, Tokopedia has provided a Kid's Room that makes it easy for parents to still enjoy quality time with their children while working. Tokopedia], both those who also play the role of a mother or a father, can fulfill various needs by carrying out career and household responsibilities," said Vania.

The same thing was expressed by Monita who saw that complete facilities in the office could support the productivity of working women. Even though he doesn't have family experience, he sees many colleagues in the office who really feel the benefits of the policies and facilities provided by the company.

"I'm grateful that Gojek actively facilitate these needs by providing daycare for working parents, where they can get proper care and education for their children," said Monita.