Addressing Leadership, Productivity, and Informality for Women in Small and Medium Enterprises

Overview & Synopsis

The third issue of the Indonesia Gender Dashboard examines leadership and productivity of Indonesian women in both the formal and informal private sector. This issue draws from recent flagship World Bank data collection efforts and proposes areas of public-private collaboration to increase women’s access to formal jobs in productive sectors in the country, as well as promote woman leadership in private businesses. The analysis has also been enriched by the Indonesia Business Pulse Survey (BPS). As part of a global initiative led by the World Bank and its partners, the BPS survey examines the impact of COVID-19 on the private sector worldwide through a panel study design. It collects comprehensive data on firms' operational statuses, channels through which their activities are affected, access to finance, availability and utilization of policy support, and the adjustment strategies employed. There were five rounds of BPS in Indonesia between 2020 and 2022. The remainder of the issue is organized as follows: it presents comparing firms characteristics, discusses leadership and productivity differentials between women- and men-led businesses across various firm sizes. Potential barriers to productivity are then assessed, complemented by a discussion on the role of technology adoption as a strategy to improve productivity. The issue concludes with a set of actionable policy recommendations, specifically aimed at fostering productivity and strengthening women's leadership in the private sector.