Evolusi Wanita - The changing face of Indonesian woman
1. The Category Series by BDRC Asia
EVOLUSI WANITA
THE CHANGING FACE OF INDONESIAN WOMEN
W
ith the advent of globalization and the changing
social & marketing environment in Indonesia,
women have gone through rapid changes in terms
of their mindset, values and expectations. Thus, it becomes
imperative to understand the trends and reasons behind the
changing face of Indonesian woman.
BDRC Asia Indonesia conducted deep dive consumer
research to get into the minds of the evolving ‘Wanitas’ of
Indonesia – a study conducted among 18-45 years old
women, single & married, working & housewives. The findings
are pointing towards the gradual emancipation of woman in
the Indonesian society and her transformation from just a
home maker to a family destiny shaper having come far from
just being the caregiver of the family. We will bring forward
certain attitudes & values that are undergoing rapid change
when it comes to the fairer sex!
Equality is the mantra among today’s Indonesian woman,
wherever you see. More woman are joining the work force
and in some cases, we found females earning more than
the male counterparts. A comment from our research -
“Sometimes my husband wants to know how much I am
earning; perhaps he wants to know if I am now earning more,
which I am!” and she laughts about the achievement. Even
the housewives have more control over decisions compared
than their predecessors – “I value my mother’s patience and
the hardship she has gone through, but I never wanted to
lead her kind of life!”
Thus, the woman’s involvement & decision making have
increased from kitchen & groceries to broader categories
such as child’s education, banking & insurance, household
durables & electronics. They are not just the influencers
but in many cases they are the money managers in the
process. The woman are more aware and informed about
the discounts & benefits of products and thus while purchas-
ing, they can take more intelligent decisions.
The men seem to be changing in the eyes of today’s woman
and they preceive men as more casual and not ready to
take responsibilities like that of their predecessors. As one
commented “Today’s men don’t want to get into details -
quite different from the previous men”; and thus it seems
woman are getting more of a free hand in areas of decision
making which was less of a possibility during their mother’s
time.
Money management is also going through an evolution as
we see the different patterns emerging from older to younger
woman. While the older women are still OK to consider
the men as the money handlers, the 25-35 year olds treat
money management seriously and have taken quite a lot of
decisions in their hand. We even found some of the 18-25
year olds, who are not yet married but with boyfriends,
managing the finances of the guys – now that’s a true power
shift trend!
With increased power in hand and more disposable money,
the woman of Indonesia are no more guilt conscious about
spending more on themselves; self – pampering seems to
be on the rise. One lady says “My mother always thought
of family - even if she was earning she felt that spending
money on herself was a bad attitude. But I don’t believe so,
I have to take care of myself physically and mentally to be
successful in both home and work – if I keep myself updated
and well groomed, people will respect me”.
As the woman becomes more outward bound, another
evolving trend is that having friend circles outside the family
who act as strong influencers. This circle is an extended
Family (we call it a “Friemily”) is not just about gossip, but
where she can discuss problems, stay updated, give & take
important tips, and can have productive discussions in the
area of fashion, money managment, education, child’s devel-
opment and last but not the least relationship issues.
The woman are collective & social by nature, but they are
gradually moving towards individualism. We find out that
while today’s woman listen to friends, she is more confident
in making the final decision. This demonstrates that they
are taking not only informed decision makers but are also
demonstrating an individualistic attitude towards choosing
products & services.
The children in some cases are acting as the propellant and
catalyst in changing the attitudes and values of the woman in
terms of fashion, technology and the general way of looking
at life. As one mother says – “I started wearing shorts as my
daughter wanted me to. First the neighbours were comment-
ing (about this) but my daughter told me… ‘Mom, why worry
about them!’” The children seem to be the key decision
makers for their mothers when its comes to a better mobiles
or better gadgets. Hence, the classical parenting is giving
way to a more democratic parent-child relationship.
All in all, it’s quite apparent that ‘Wanita Indonesia’ is defi-
nitely going through an evolution which might change the
classical ways of marketing products & services like financial
products, education, technology etc. As a famous saying
goes - “On the left side of a strong woman, stands a strong
man; he is strengthened by her character.” (Ellen J. Barrier)
Shawn Roy, Director, BDRC Asia Indonesia
Shawn.roy@bdrc-asia.com
Tel: +62-21-5761253/54
www.bdrc-asia.com
