To promote gender equality, Liberty Society empowers hundreds of Indonesian women through women entrepreneurship
Indonesia, 26 Jun 2024 - The gender gap in employment remains a challenge for Indonesia.
National Labour Force Survey (Sakernas)
August 2023 data showed that the Inactivity Rate for women was higher (45.48 percent) than for men (15.74 percent). The Inactivity Rate measures the proportion of a country's working age population that is not actively engaged in the labour market, either by working or looking for work (not the labour force).
Established in 2019,
Liberty Society
is a social enterprise that transforms corporate waste such as plastic, textiles, and cardboard into merchandise and gift sets under a Business-to-Business (B2B) sales scheme. In addition to paying attention to the environmental aspect, Liberty Society also promotes underprivileged women by providing them with employment, offering training in sewing and in starting and running a business, providing a platform for artisans to create handmade items, and creating a safe working environment for women.
Liberty Society Co-founder & CEO
Tamara Gondo
said, "Liberty Society's story began when I was assisting people affected by conflict, war, and poverty that robbed women of the opportunity to work. Liberty Society was created to empower underprivileged women so that they can regain hope for a better future. Our vision and mission are to drive the conscious living movement, inspire people to do good by making every product meaningful and impactful and connect 1 million consumers who care about the environment with 1,000 underprivileged women to give them financial freedom. Just as the government has a
Gender Mainstreaming Strategy
(PUG) policy to realise gender equality and justice, Liberty Society also plays an active role in empowering inspiring women who have been trapped by poverty and hopelessness through our initiatives."
Through these efforts, Liberty Society supports several Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs), namely:
SDG 2 (Zero Hunger): every working woman is paid a living wage that allows her to meet her daily needs and save money
SDG 5 (Gender Equality): livelihood provision to help restore the self-esteem and dignity of every woman who has experienced gender-based violence and discrimination
SDG 8 (Decent Work and Economic Growth): each woman is reminded of her goals and motivated to take pride in her work
SDGs 4 (Quality Education): Liberty Society provided training for women, schooling for 30 children, and sustainable farming methods for local farmers in Kalimantan in collaboration with Bumiterra
SDG 10 (Reduced Inequality): empowering women living in poverty by providing safe communities and jobs that pay 3-4 times higher
SDG 12 (Responsible Consumption and Production): Liberty Society is committed to achieving sustainable development goals by significantly reducing waste generation through material substitution, reduced usage, and upcycling.
In practice, Liberty Society receives waste samples from various corporations and conducts research to determine the types of goods that can be produced from the waste. The waste is then collected and processed into sheets, which will be sent to a craftsmanship centre to be sewn and processed into finished goods. After around five years in operation, Liberty Society has worked with more than 100 companies in Indonesia.
Recently, DBS Foundation through DBS Foundation Business for Impact Grant Award Programme 2023 awarded S$710,000 worth of grants, or equivalent to Rp8.2 billion to 4 social enterprises from Indonesia, one of them Liberty Society. "We are very pleased that the grant from DBS Foundation will help us expand our positive contribution to society. We will use this fund to train 200 underprivileged women, recycle 100 tonnes of waste, establish a new recycling facility to increase production scale, and deepen market penetration," explained
Tamara Gondo
.
DBS Foundation Business for Impact Grant Award Programme is DBS Foundation's annual programme to support social enterprises with funding and mentorship to help them grow. "As a purpose-driven bank, we are proud to support Liberty Society in its mission to support the growth of Indonesian women and promote environmental sustainability. With Liberty Society selected as the grantee, we look forward to expanding our positive impact through innovative solutions to social and environmental issues in Indonesia, in line with our third sustainability pillar, Impact Beyond Banking," said Head of Group Strategic Marketing and Communications at PT Bank DBS Indonesia
Mona Monika
.
The social enterprises that received grants from DBS Foundation Business for Impact Grant Award Programme 2023 were selected for their solutions to environmental and social issues, such as air pollution, plastic waste, and women's empowerment. The grants are expected to help the selected social enterprises to scale up their positive impact and inspire society to contribute to efforts to build a more sustainable future.
Driven by their 'spark', Liberty Society can improve women's welfare. In a similar fashion, driven by its motivation, Bank DBS Indonesia is committed to supporting social enterprises to accelerate social impact. All these efforts are in line with Bank DBS Indonesia's
'Trust Your Spark
' campaign to ignite and empower the spark in everyone so that they can live a more meaningful and sustainable life, and achieve all their aspirations. It is hoped that with this spark, people can be moved to turn inspiration into action, just as Liberty Society strives for gender equality, green business practices, and making valuable contributions to the surrounding community.
For more information about Liberty Society, visit
this page
and for more information about DBS Foundation, visit Instagram @
dbsfoundationid
.
About DBS
DBS is a leading financial services group in Asia with a presence in 19 markets. Headquartered and listed in Singapore, DBS is in the three key Asian axes of growth: Greater China, Southeast Asia and South Asia. The bank’s “AA-” and “Aa1” credit ratings are among the highest in the world.
Recognised for its global leadership, DBS has been named
“World’s Best Bank”
by Global Finance,
“World’s Best Bank”
by Euromoney and
“Global Bank of the Year”
by The Banker. The bank is at the forefront of leveraging digital technology to shape the future of banking, having been named
“World’s Best Digital Bank
” by Euromoney and the world’s “
Most Innovative in Digital Banking”
by The Banker. In addition, DBS has been accorded the
“Safest Bank in Asia
“ award by Global Finance for 15 consecutive years from 2009 to 2023. DBS Indonesia is ranked second in the top as
World’s Best Bank in Indonesia
for three consecutive years from 2020 to 2022.
Established in 1989 as part of the Singapore-based DBS Group, PT Bank DBS Indonesia (Bank DBS Indonesia) is one of the banks with the longest history in Asia. Currently operating 1 Head Office, 13 Branch Offices, 16 Assistant Offices and 4 Functional Offices and 3,011 active employees in 15 Major Cities in Indonesia, Bank DBS Indonesia provides comprehensive banking services in the corporate, SME and consumer banking segments that focuses on the customer experience to 'Live more, Bank less'. We also see a purpose beyond banking and are committed to supporting our customers, employees and the community towards a sustainable future.
PT Bank DBS Indonesia
is licensed and supervised by The Indonesian Financial Services Authority (OJK), and an insured member of Indonesia Deposit Insurance Corporation (LPS).
DBS is committed to building lasting relationships with customers, as it banks the Asian way. Through the DBS Foundation, the bank creates impact beyond banking by supporting businesses for impact: enterprises with a double bottom-line of profit and social and/or environmental impact. DBS Foundation also gives back to society in various ways, including equipping underserved communities with future-ready skills and helping them to build food resilience.
With its extensive network of operations in Asia and emphasis on engaging and empowering its staff, DBS presents exciting career opportunities. For more information, please visit
www.dbs.com
.
DBS Bank Ltd | 12 Marina Boulevard, DBS Asia Central @ Marina Bay Financial Centre Tower 3,
Singapore 018982 | Co. Reg. No. 196800306E
Tel: 65.6878 8888 | www.dbs.com
