Indonesia's Gender Empowerment Index Continues to Grow, Reaching a New Record in 2022

Indonesian women's participation in the economy and politics has steadily strengthened over the past five years. This is reflected in the consistently growing Gender Empowerment Index (GEI) score since 2018, reaching a new high in 2022.

The Central Bureau of Statistics (BPS) measures the Gender Empowerment Index (GEI) through three dimensions: parliamentary representation, decision-making, and income distribution.

The parliamentary representation dimension is measured by the proportion of women and men in the legislature.

The decision-making dimension is measured by the proportion of women and men working as managers, administrative staff, professionals, and technicians.

The income distribution dimension is measured by the wages of male and female workers in the non-agricultural sector.

BPS then formulates its analysis into a score of 0-100 points, with the following assessment categories:

* Low: GEI < 50
* Medium: 50 ? GEI < 60
* High: 60 ? GEI ? 80
* Very High: GEI > 80

Using this method, BPS recorded Indonesia's Gender Empowerment Index (GEI) score in 2022 at 76.59 points, placing it in the "high" level.

This index achievement grew by 0.43% compared to 2021, also marking the highest record in the last five years.

Since 2018, the GEI has consistently increased each year, with the score and growth rate details shown in the graph.

This GEI growth is also in line with the increase in the Gender Dimension score in the Cultural Development Index (CDI) from the Ministry of Education, Culture, Research, and Technology (Kemendikbudristek).

The Gender Dimension of the CDI is measured using the same components as the GEI, namely women's participation in the economy and politics, but with the addition of women's participation in education.

The Gender Dimension score of the CDI has consistently increased during Indonesia's pandemic, with a growth rate of 6.3% in 2020, then 0.93% in 2021, and 1.29% in 2022.

"The increase in the GEI along with the Gender Dimension of the CDI during the pandemic shows that women's involvement in each area did not decrease despite the crisis," said the Kemendikbudristek team in their report, *Culture in Comparison: A Comparative Analysis of the CDI and Six Related Indices*.