Indrijati Rahayoe emphasizes the importance of empathy for female employees during the early stage of motherhood.
Chapter: Attracting female talent
About: Indrijati Rahayoe is the chief human resources and community investment officer of Prudential Indonesia. She has spent close to two decades leading HR teams and transformation programs in Unilever, Blue Bird Group, and Bayer.
How have you seen the workplace evolve in terms of gender equality throughout your career journey?
Talent diversity, including gender, has grown immensely in the professional world. When I started my career 20 years ago, I was interacting mostly with male colleagues.
“Today, there’s greater diversity with more women at almost all executive levels and across industries and roles that are traditionally perceived as masculine. Women now know that nothing can stop them from reaching their highest potential in their careers.”
One area that we need to focus on is getting more women into tech or digital roles. We should be proud of the fact we have many female leaders within tech and start-ups in Indonesia. While we’ve started gaining momentum, we still have a long way to go.
What more do you think could be done to improve gender diversity and produce more female CEOs?
We did a study into the scarcity of female leaders. We found that female employees experience slower career growth when their children are less than five to 10 years old. After their children pass that age, women can progress at the same pace as their male counterparts. This echoes my own experience.
“We have to empathize more with female employees during the period when they may not be able to focus solely on work. This can be done through providing support. If a proper support system is in place, women could climb the corporate ladder just as fast as men.”
Beyond women empowerment, this makes sense from a business perspective as internal research at Prudential Indonesia shows that the retention rate among women is higher than for men—and what’s even more surprising, particularly in tech roles. This is one of the reasons why we should keep a close eye on our top female talent.
What should employers communicate in their brand to attract top female talent?
“Flexibility with responsibility: these are two prominent words to attract female talent. We need to give women the utmost confidence to be able to work from anywhere.”
Flexibility offers everyone an equal chance to contribute to the company while taking care of their family. On the other hand, responsibility keeps everyone in check—to stay accountable for their work duties.
It’s about being empathetic—allowing and supporting employees to achieve both personal and professional goals without sacrificing one or the other. Everyone has their own challenges at home, but we all have the same objective: to grow the business. On that note, I am proud to share that Prudential Indonesia introduced new corporate values in 2022 to include “empathetic.”
“I am a firm believer in being empathetic, especially during challenging times that we are in now. The pandemic taught me that people can be in the same storm but entirely different boats.”
How important is it that an organization conveys a calling and purpose during these uncertain times?
Nowadays, companies have to think outside of the box and find innovative ways to keep their employees united, regardless of the prevailing challenge of physical distance.
“During the pandemic, physical bonding in a company needs to be transpired to inspirational bonding. It keeps us pursuing our purpose, even with the imposed distance.”
In addition to company initiatives, employees must have self-motivation and self-inspiration. We have to have our own personal career aspirations because that’s what keeps us progressing professionally. When you know your end goal in life, you’re able to recognize what’s important and prioritize accordingly—be it work, family, or others.
What kind of support can organizations provide for female talent to achieve their career goals?
It’s vitally important for female leaders to have female mentors as they can’t share certain women’s issues with a male mentor. In an organization, there should be a women empowerment group, a community of female leaders, where everyone can discuss their struggles in a safe space.
“The right mentor will motivate you in achieving your career aspirations and guide you on the path that takes you there.”
Request a free copy of the Empowering Women: A Collection of Thoughts from Women Leaders to Advance the Workplace.
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