Quick facts: Martha Tilaar Group – Indonesia – Beauty Industry – 4,200 Employees

Target: To train 5,000 women in a women’s empowerment program aimed to create entrepreneurial opportunities in the beauty industry

Date Set: 2022

Progress Made: Aligned with 2 of 4 pillars of Martha Tilaar Group (Empowering Women, Beauty Green, Beauty Education, Beauty Culture) and through collaboration with other parties, we had reach the goal of training more than 2,500 women by early 2021 in advancement in the beauty industry. We are pleased to say that even during the pandemic, we managed to conduct the training online. The hope is that this programme can create entrepreneurial opportunities in the community as a sustainable alternative livelihood for women and also to facilitate young women to get opportunity for scholarship programmes for spa therapists. We wish to double the number by next year. Meanwhile, through programme held by our training centre alone, we had trained approximately 6,000 young women as spa therapists who are now able to support themselves as well as their family by having their own salon or work in the spa & hospitality industry.

What is driving your company’s ambition to advance gender equality?

First of all, the company was built by a woman, Martha Tilaar, from scratch. With Tilaar’s strength, dedication, hard work and great ideas, along with our loyal employees which mostly comprise of women and 50% of management positions are held by them, the company has now been in business for 50 years producing women’s products. This is a true testament to how powerful it is when women have equal opportunities and chance in terms of access to jobs, leadership positions and decision-making at all levels. We believe that gender equality in the workplace – or in any aspect of life for that matter – is very important. In order to open more opportunities for women and help women feel empowered, Martha Tillar Group’s women’s empowerment programme has been our strong commitment since the beginning. We believe that by giving more skills through education to Indonesian women and involving them in the business line, we can empower under-privileged women to be independent individuals, able to support themselves and their families. This effort has a long-term contribution in reducing women trafficking, raising gender equality in the community and helping to increase the economic scale of the nation.

What are concrete actions your company is taking to reach your target and help move the needle on women’s
representation and leadership?

• Women in Top Management by having 50% of management positions held by women. At Martha Tillaar Group, we recognize that women have the ability and potential to lead and carry out great responsibilities.
• By having the majority of employees female because we believe that in terms of education, achievement, potential and abilities, women are equal to men.
• Consistently applying the four pillars of the company consisting of beauty education, beauty culture, beauty green and empowering women, to all that we do. In our programme for empowering women that has been carried out since 2005, Martha Tilaar Group has provided scholarships for many women from low-income families to be trained as spa therapists for salons and spas, giving them tools to succeed in business.
• Connect & collaborate with other parties, institution, local government and the community to carry out the women’s empowerment programme in hopes that this partnership could also contribute to the achievement of the SDGs in Indonesia – particularly Goal 3: Ensure healthy lives and promote well-being for all at all ages, Goal 5: Gender Equality, Goal 8: Decent Work and Economic Growth, and Goal 17: Partnerships for the Goals.
• Building a supportive community to source from women entrepreneurs who are taught through the Martha Tilaar Group’s empowerment programme to succeed through many activities such as creating unique local products and herbal product, batik creations, beauty classes and branding & packaging services.

What is one lesson or pitfall to avoid that other companies could learn from?

From the beginning, it is important to pay attention to the alignment between unites in a business so that each unit has a good understanding of the organization-wide goals that need to be achieved and can work together more solidly and synergize.