On August 27, 2021, Puskapol UI held an audience session with the Indonesian General Elections Commission regarding the She Leads Indonesia 2021 program. The initiative aims to encourage greater participation of women in applying for membership in the national election bodies for the 2022–2027 term, while also promoting women’s representation in line with legal mandates to help ensure that electoral policies are more inclusive and responsive to gender concerns.
The session was attended by Aditya Perdana as Director of Puskapol UI, along with members of its management team, all commissioners of the Indonesian General Elections Commission, representatives from its secretariat, and female commissioners from provincial and regency or city levels across Indonesia. In total, more than 400 participants joined the event.
During the session, several commissioners delivered remarks, including Ilham Saputra, Arief Budiman, Pramono Ubaid Tanthowi, Viryan Aziz, I Dewa Kade Wiarsa, and Evi Novida Ginting Manik. They expressed strong support for the She Leads Indonesia 2021 program, highlighting the limited presence of women within election management bodies. At the national level, only one woman served as a commissioner, and many regions still lacked female representation at both provincial and local levels. Strengthening women’s presence at the national level is expected to help encourage broader representation at the regional level.
The commissioners also emphasized the various challenges women continue to face, particularly in fostering a more inclusive social and political environment that upholds gender equality. Despite existing affirmative efforts, significant barriers remain. Female election administrators who attended the session were encouraged to take part in the selection process so they could be considered for further training, based on the established schedule and criteria.
Evi Novida Ginting Manik shared her personal experience as an alumna of the She Leads program in 2016. She noted that the training played an important role in building her confidence to participate in the selection process for the national commission. Through the program, she was able to better understand her strengths and limitations, which helped her navigate the full selection process and ultimately become the only woman selected at that time. She also highlighted the importance of building solidarity among women to support one another.
The session continued with a presentation by Aditya Perdana, who outlined the background and objectives of the She Leads Indonesia 2021 program. His presentation covered the current state of women’s representation in election management bodies, the number of female applicants for the national commission, as well as details about the program itself, including eligibility criteria, requirements, and the schedule for its three training modules. The event concluded with a discussion and question and answer session, focusing particularly on the procedures for applying to the program. The management team also provided further clarification on the selection process. Overall, the session reflected strong enthusiasm and commitment among female election administrators at the provincial and local levels to take part in the She Leads Indonesia 2021 program.
