Women in Integrity: Women as Important Actors in the Fight Against Corruption

The links between gender and corruption are increasingly highlighted by both academia and the international community. For instance, they are part of the G20 commitments set out in 2018. Men and women are affected by corruption in different ways and are objects of different corrupt practices and behaviours as corruption disproportionately hurts the most vulnerable and marginalised sectors of the population. Thus, the Alliance for Integrity strongly promotes the implementation of a gender-specific approach in all compliance activities. Women are key actors in the fight against corruption and need to have a strong voice in the public discourse.

In line with this, in 2017 the Alliance for Integrity has established the Working Group ‘Women in Integrity (WIN)’ in Indonesia that provides a safe platform for female entrepreneurs and professionals to discuss key challenges related to corruption in day-to-day business. The members of the working group are representatives of businesswomen's associations in West Java, Indonesia, that are committed to promoting business integrity and raising awareness of the importance of anti-corruption efforts among women.

During the last meeting of the Working Group the members concretised their strategy to support the Regional Advocacy Committee West Java. Part of their activities will be an online seminar on the successful implementation of an effective compliance management programme aimed at women-owned SMEs that are members of the business association.

Starting the meeting, the members discussed the activities that had been carried out in recent months, including the survey on the pandemic’s impact on the local economy and the continuing support for the Regional Advocacy Committee (RAC) West Java after the election of the new management.

The members also decided to work together with Perhimpunan Perempuan Lintas Profesi Indonesia (PPLIPI) West Java in the upcoming DUKU business integrity training that will be carried out for the first time in the digital format. They also agreed to further promote TheIntegrityApp that allows SMEs to self-assess and improve their compliance measures. More information about the impact of ‘Women in Integrity’ can be found on the gender topic page of the Alliance for Integrity. 

Author: Alhayyu Shafira