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Women who care
The onus on women to be multitalented â and multi-armed â in moonlighting as wives, mothers and businesswomen is mounting, but they are confronting the challenge head-on
T
he onus on women to be multitalented ' and multi-armed ' in moonlighting as wives, mothers and businesswomen is mounting, but they are confronting the challenge head-on.
In their various careers and maternal roles, women tend to give selflessly, neglecting to reward themselves.
The annual Young Caring Professional Awards, recently held by cosmetics giant Martha Tilaar, acknowledged career-women who exhibit three traits that are most difficult to reconcile ' 'Care for yourself, care for your company and care for others'.
The former tends to be swept under the rug, said Yorris Sebastian, one of the members of a panel of nine judges whom, over the course of a few months, had to whittle down 800 applicants to 20 finalists, among them nine winners.
Intriguingly, the awardees consist of women from a melting pot of professions, from executives to those working in law enforcement to biodiversity consulting to community empowerment.
Asri Wijayanti, communications officer at ASEAN Coordinating Center for Humanitarian Assistance in Disaster Management: 'What I love most about my work is the opportunity to spread information that can save lives, starting from communications about disaster risks to information that can push people to provide aid to those places that have been affected by natural disaster,' the 34-year-old says.
Dealing with disaster daily has not only inured her to making snap decisions in tight timeframes, but Asri says that much of aid coordination entails building relationships and credibility so that in the event of an emergency, it is simply about giving the right instructions to the right stakeholders.
'The experience that most motivated me was founding and managing the 'Friends for Java' project after the earthquake in Yogyakarta in 2006, where I saw firsthand the impact a natural disaster can have on a community, and how initiatives such as fund-raising and organizing volunteers to help the community can be simple to coordinate ' as long as we are clear in the information we give and can be trusted by the various parties involved.'
If granted a year-long hiatus from work, Asri says she would like to pen a book about disaster reduction derived from her experiences in Aceh.
'The second [book] will be a biography on my mother, about how she grew up and how hard she studied so that even though she came from a small village in Boyolali, Central Java, she had deep insights. How she raised three girls after my father died. My mother is my protector and inspiration.'
Kika Dhersy Putri, CEO of ThinkWoman.co.id: Like most entrepreneurs, Kika abandoned her corporate job to pursue
an inborn passion: advancing women.
ThinkWoman, self-described as 'Indonesia's first creative strategic agency for women', was established to help businesses create branding that caters to women's strengthening purchasing power.
What Kika most relishes in managing a business is the creativity it demands.
'With every project, we expect to come up with something new that no one else has thought of before. The challenge is to always look at something from the least ordinary angle,' the 34-year-old says.
Writing and filmmaking are two other passions Kika has been able to capitalize on since going solo.
'After taking this new path I was able to publish two books (Ber317an and Cemburu itu Peluru or Jealousy is a Bullet), make a short film and participate in a film festival in Singapore, and have my own column called 'Halau Galau' in a national newspaper in Surabaya.'
What is the best thing about being an entrepreneur? 'It opens your mind and changes the way you look at things around you. It's very liberating, but also thrilling because every second there is a new challenge.'
Aretha Aprilia, environmental specialist, researcher, recipient of Outstanding Performance as coordinator of the Asia Pacific Forum for Environment and Development from the United Nations: A shining testament to the merits of working from the bottom up, Aretha began her career as an intern at the United Nations Environment Program (UNEP) offices in Paris and subsequently in Bangkok in 2005.
During her three-year tenure with the UN, Aretha observed with chagrin that most of its female staff held supporting and administrative positions. The 34-year-old took note of the inspiring exceptions, such as the female deputy regional director of UNEP Bangkok.
'She got her PhD from ETH Zurich and Berkeley. She also had extensive work experience at the World Bank headquarters and the government. Is that normal for a Bhutanese woman? No. In fact, rumor has it she was the first woman in Bhutan to have earned a PhD!'
Moved by the figures she had observed, Aretha authored a book in 2010, Rahasia Sukses Berkarier International (The Secret to a Successful International Career).
'I realized that these women had something in common. It's called 'going the extra mile'. I'm not simply talking about working extra hours, but they have personal traits that are not [possessed] by [most] people,' says Aretha.
Felicia Lesmana, biodiversity consultant: Her aspiration to become a biologist was inspired by documentary filmmaker Rob Bredl, best known for his National Geographic show Kissing Crocodiles.
Understanding ecosystems and biodiversity through field work is vital not only for environmentalists but also for businesses and society at large, she says.
'Sometimes, I have to wake up very early, like at 4 a.m. to chase the sunrise, to [listen] to all the sounds of nature ' gibbons, birds, flowing water ' to survey any wildlife signs based on my senses or catch them with special equipment called a harp trap [for catching bats] and camera traps [to obtain pictures of medium-large mammals such as mouse deer and wild boar] in the forest,' says Felicia, who spends 50 percent of her time in the field.
Despite having a crystal-clear vision for her career development, the 29-year-old's philosophy about humility fittingly uses a plant metaphor.
'I always remember the Javanese proverb about rice paddies: the closer they curve to the ground, the denser they are. What this means in real life is that the more successful we are, the more humbly and simply we should live.'
Dini Jaharrahmah, 23, human resources analyst, Danone Group Indonesia: Volunteer positions at NGOs primed Dini with the project management acumen vital to the leadership role she holds today.
After university she ventured to a rural village in Depok in a subdistrict of Cisompet, where she led a community development initiative aiming to help women attain financial self-sustenance by making handicrafts out of discarded coffee cartons.
'Even though my parents are from a small town, they had big dreams for their children. They prayed for us and that has motivated me to be successful, to reach for my dreams and in raising my own family in keeping them happy and making them proud,' says the 23-year-old, who is a small town girl herself from the Central Java town of Kudus.
Despite being the youngest member of her team at Danone (and the youngest YCPA 2013 award winner), Dini is entrusted with spearheading DanCommunity and DanYouth, and is credited with creating the Danone Young Social Entrepreneur initiative.
'I meet a lot of people, interact with young people who are talented in their field, and have the opportunity to visit lots of different cities and countries. All of this is the reason my work is never boring and there's always something new every day!'
Cahya Metyasari, business controller, founder of HijabSpeak: A social butterfly and founder of HijabSpeak, an online platform for hijab bloggers, Cahya works as a business controller for a Jakarta-based palm plantation.
Analysis and plantation site visits occupy her weekdays, but on days off Cahya is a prolific fashion blogger and enjoys organizing live Twitter chats and forums to exchange life and religious wisdom that brings the HijabSpeak community together.
'Sharing information is not limited to age or status in any way,' she says. 'I like to share, whether online or offline. Offline through communities and speaking up about experiences and wisdom that are positive ['¦] because just like my blog's tagline: 'Sharing is beautiful!''
Dewi Tanjung Sari, community empowerment officer: The start-up capital for Dewi's business, which now exports to the US, Australia and several European countries, was Rp 50,000 (US$5).
Half the equipment she needed did not require funds, anyway ' the dried leaves and flowers, used cardboard and scrap paper she collected at her university campus in Malang had been disposed of by others who did not see their potential.
Using simply these items, a bowl of preservative and a glue gun, Dewi's business, De Tanjung, creates plates, placemats, vases, clocks, lamps, photo frames, greeting cards and gift boxes using dried leaves.
The leaves' veins, stems and resulting brown sheen after three hours of boiling in saline water creates a coppery, dimensional finish that utterly belies its simple papier-mâché production method.
To better handle the onslaught of orders as her business grew, the 35-year-old hired 35 women from the surrounding Banjararum village and the women's prison in Sukun, Malang to help square away some of the handiwork, thereby empowering third parties.
Dewi is working on expanding her product portfolio to include home accessories such as leaf-layered ceramics, wallpaper and mirrors.
Nina Agustriana, head of customer division, Nutrifood: Working at Nutrifood since 2001, she is now head of customer development. With about 700 personnel under her wing, including salespeople, customer service personnel and marketing promotion supervisors, as a leader Nina takes pride in giving others a leg-up on the career ladder.
'I am passionate and I always like to inspire and build up a team so that they can be so much better and ripen according to their individual talents. The biggest satisfaction is when a member of my team gets a promotion or starts their own business, which can in turn create jobs for other people,' the 35-year-old says.
Nina's job entails traveling around the country to meet Nutrifood consumers and endorsers of healthy living, such as nutritionists, fitness instructors and student activists, to help perpetuate a nationwide predilection for mindful eating.
Now at the summit of her career after eight years of hard work, Nina says that the view from the top affords many epiphanies, as well as space to reassess one's priorities.
'Now I have values that nobody can ever take away from me, something eternal. I learned that work is not everything; work is only a vehicle for us to achieve our life goals to help us find worldly bliss. And having an impact on other people's lives makes our own lives more meaningful because that is what makes us valuable.'
Alia Trishanti, policewoman: As a cop, Alia has seen it all. Redeployed from the traffic regulations department to domestic abuse and now the drug enforcement unit, Alia says her job requires tight discipline ' traffic patrols start at 5:30 a.m. ' and thick skin; and yet the day-to-day experience of dealing with crime is replete with moral and spiritual takeaways.
'In 2004, I was moved to the department that deals with women and children. Working in this department really expanded my way of thinking: that women are not only objects of abuse but it is the women themselves who must stop the abuse ' and not by remaining silent. We have to have the courage to say 'NO',' the 32-year-old wrote in her bio.
'I always wonder if after a defendant is sentenced by the court whether he will change and become a better person? I don't think so. And who is responsible for the ordeal of the victims, who is responsible for how they live through it?'
