Encourage Girls to Become Leaders, Plan Indonesia Presents Access to First Online Learning through Girls Leadership Academy
Jakarta, 30 May 2020 – Girls Leadership Academy (GLA), an academy to encourage girls’ leadership initiated by Yayasan Plan International Indonesia (Plan Indonesia) opened its first webinar class with the theme: Girls Power to Unlimitedly Speak Up. The GLA webinar was attended by more than 100 participants who registered online from various cities in Indonesia. In this 2 hour 45 minute webinar, GLA participants will get an overview of the classes that will be run in the academy to encourage girls’ leadership.
GLA seeks to create a movement led by girls for gender equality in Indonesia. That way, GLA will further solidify the work of Plan Indonesia with the #GirlsGetEqual campaign which aims to fight equality for girls in Indonesia.
Until 2020, children and young women in Indonesia still face various challenges in the fields of education, economics and politics. Indonesia is ranked 116 out of 189 countries in the UNDP Gender Inequality Index which measures indicators of human resource development, women’s empowerment, and participation in formal employment. In the formal workforce, the female labor force participation rate is 55.5%, far less than that of men, which is 83.18% (National Statistic Agency, 2019). Women’s participation in politics is not comparable with men. There are only 20.5% female representatives in parliament (Indonesia Representative Council, 2019) and 6% regional heads who are women. Moreover, marriages in Indonesia occur in 1 in 7 girls under the age of 18 in Indonesia (Plan International, 2018) which results in blocked access to education for girls.
Dini Widiastuti, Executive Director of Plan Indonesia stressed the importance of girls’ leadership being encouraged early on and how Plan Indonesia took steps through the establishment of GLA. “We are trying to advance the potential of Indonesian girls from the early start. This academy was established with a long-term goal to produce future female leaders who have an equality and inclusive perspective, “explained Dini.
GLA is designed to be a creative and innovative learning space through 3 main pillars namely Girls Power – encouraging the ability of individuals to empower, believe in themselves, be responsible, and have quality. The second pillar, Girls Unlimited, encourages individuals to dream, explore their potential, and expand the horizon of knowledge. Then, Girls Speak Up is developing and developing strategies to realize empowerment and dreams to make an impact on themselves and the surrounding environment.
Through GLA, Plan Indonesia wants to ensure access to learning of girls’ leadership continues to roll in the midst of the COVID-19 pandemic. “The new normal situation is very influential in the learning process, all of which are online. The GLA webinar certainly helps me to stay productive”, explained Naura, Girls Takover Alumni 2019.
The Girls Power to Unlimitedly Speak Up webinar is supported by a number of experts such as Kartika Jahja, activists and artists who discuss the power of girls related to women’s body authority. International lecturer and young researcher, Sri Fatmawati recounts her journey as a woman in the field of research, according to the UNESCO report (2015) there were only 18% of women in the STEM field in Asia. Also participating as a senior journalist, Prita Laura discussed the importance of being able to voice aspirations with confidence to the inspirational story of girls who are vocal to make a difference in the world.
Media contact:
Lia Toriana – National Project Manager – Lia.Toriana@plan-international.org
Chiquita Marbun – Communications Specialist – Chiquita.Marbun@plan-international.org