Engaging women workers in automotive industry

 Learning experiences from PT Gajah Tunggal, a tire manufacturing company in Indonesia, in implementing gender responsive human resource policies to promote women empowerment.

PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk. (Gajah Tunggal) is one of the tire maker companies in Indonesia founded in 1951. The automotive industry, such as the Gajah Tunggal factory, is often dominated by men.

“Gajah Tunggal company has almost 18,000 workers. Only 2.5% of them are female workers in the factory and 1% of them are female workers in the management, “said Catharina Widjaja, Director of Communications and Investor Relations at PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk at the Multi-stakeholder Dialogue themed ‘Understanding Women’s Rights at Work’ organized by Indonesia Global Compact Network (IGCN) on October 19, 2018.

“There might be a prejudice that tire manufacturing companies are male dominated industry and not women-friendly,” said Catharina.

To engage women in a male-dominated industry, Gajah Tunggal is trying to assess the company’s practices.

“Our company gives equal employment opportunity. There are no job vacancies that prioritize men or women. ” explained Catharina. “The Collective Labor Agreement (PKB) also includes the right to maternity leave in accordance with labor regulations from the government,” added Catharina.

Gajah Tunggal strives to increase women’s representation in the company in the future. “We target at least 50-50 male-female composition for job applicants. This is not a quota. It shows however our efforts to attract more female job applicants, “Catharina said. “The next process of selecting workers then treated equally based on competence.” she added.

According to Catharina, the challenge ahead is to change perspectives preventing women from occupying higher positions. “Some employees refused to be promoted because they did not want to be in a higher position than their husbands or did not want more tasks because of their responsibilities at home.” explained Catharina.

“If you want to be treated equally, you must feel equal.” – Catharina Widjaja, Director of Communication and Investor Relations at PT Gajah Tunggal Tbk.

Catharina, as a women minority holding position at Gajah Tunggal’s board of directors, gave a successful advice for female workers. “In principle, even if you are a woman or a man, you must achieve the same KPI (Key Performance Indicator). If you want to be treated equally, you must feel equal. “Said Catharina.