Championing care

Care work underpins our societies and economies, yet it is often undervalued. For Lenny Nurharyanti Rosalin, recognising and formalising care work is key to unlocking economic potential and achieving gender equality in Indonesia. As Deputy Minister for Gender Equality at the Ministry of Women’s Empowerment and Child Protection (2021-2024), she led Indonesia’s groundbreaking efforts such as the G20 Care Economy Initiative and the National Care Economy Roadmap to elevate the care economy within national and regional policy frameworks.

“I realised from the beginning that the care economy plays a crucial role in ensuring social wellbeing and economic stability in Indonesia.” – Lenny Rosalin, Deputy Minister for Gender Equality, Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (2021-2024)

Although her advocacy for the care economy began well before Indonesia’s G20 presidency in 2022, the global platform provided a pivotal opportunity for Ibu Lenny to elevate care issues on the international agenda. During its presidency, Indonesia launched the G20 Care Economy Initiative, spotlighting the burden of unpaid care work as a significant barrier to women’s workforce participation. Building on this momentum, Indonesia continued its advocacy during its ASEAN chairmanship in 2023.

In 2023-2024, this sustained focus culminated in the development of Indonesia’s National Roadmap on the Care Economy—a comprehensive policy framework addressing seven strategic areas: childcare, elderly care, inclusive services for vulnerable groups, maternity protection, paternity involvement, recognition of care workers, and social protection. The roadmap was shaped through extensive consultations with government ministries, the private sector, NGOs, experts and academia, ensuring a holistic and inclusive approach.

Pioneering policy for lasting impact

Lenny’s contributions didn’t stop with the roadmap. She was influential in the development of Indonesia’s Law No. 4/ 2024 on Maternal and Child Welfare, a landmark policy designed to address stunting prevention through maternity and paternity leave, access to childcare services, and workplace breastfeeding support. Even after her formal retirement in April 2024, Lenny continues to advise relevant stakeholders on the next steps to implement the provisions of the law that was formalized in July 2024.

One of the most transformative achievements under her service was the successful integration of the care economy into Indonesia’s National Long-Term Development Plan (RPJPN) 2025–2045 and the National Medium-Term Development Plan (RPJMN) 2025–2029.

“For Indonesia, everything is stated in our planning documents, they ensure that the government allocates the budget annually to deliver on our national priorities, and now, the care economy is part of that.” - Lenny Rosalin, Deputy Minister for Gender Equality, Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (2021-2024)

High potential for Indonesia–Australia collaboration

Lenny sees strong and growing opportunities for Australia and Indonesia to collaborate across the care economy, particularly in education and training, workforce development, digital innovation, and policy learning.

Education and training are top priorities. With a growing supply of trained care workers in Indonesia, especially nurses, Lenny sees significant potential for bilateral skills mobility. Many Indonesian care workers are already contributing to care sectors in the Middle East and Asia, but engagement with Australia has been limited. Lenny believes Mutual Recognition Arrangements (MRAs) and joint training programs could enable more Indonesian care workers to contribute to Australia’s aged care and health sectors, where demand is rapidly rising.

“There is a big opportunity to work together on upskilling and recognising Indonesian care workers to meet Australia’s workforce needs. At the same time, those skills and experiences can be reinvested back into Indonesia’s own growing care sectors.” - Lenny Rosalin, Deputy Minister for Gender Equality, Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (2021-2024)

Digital innovation presents another area for bilateral collaboration. Indonesia’s thriving digital economy and Australia’s strengths in health technology could come together to co-develop solutions for remote care, elder monitoring, and digital health record systems, advancing care delivery in both countries.

Policy dialogue and institutional collaboration are also critical, according to Lenny. As Indonesia rolls out its National Roadmap on the Care Economy and implements its Maternal and Child Welfare Law, there is scope for Australia and Indonesia to share lessons on policy design, financing models, regulation, and integration of care services into broader development planning.

“There is a lot we can learn from each other. Australia has experience in formalising care services and improving quality standards, while Indonesia has strong community-based models of in-home care. Together, we can develop more inclusive, sustainable care systems.” - Lenny Rosalin, Deputy Minister for Gender Equality, Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (2021-2024)

Why the Care Economy matters for inclusive growth

The stakes are high. As Lenny notes, the gender gap in Indonesia’s labour force participation remains wide, with women’s participation lagging behind men’s by about 30 percentage points. Without bold policy interventions, closing this gap could take decades.

“If we empower women to enter the labour market by addressing care responsibilities, we can increase labour force participation and drive economic growth.” - Lenny Rosalin, Deputy Minister for Gender Equality, Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection (2021-2024)

For Lenny, fully integrating the care economy into Indonesia’s national development agenda is a key step toward building an inclusive and sustainable economy, one where women’s contributions are valued and where care work is recognised as essential to national prosperity.

 Katalis supports enhanced bilateral trade and collaboration between Indonesia and Australia, including in the care economy. Check out our ‘economics of care’ page for links to our webinar series and briefing papers on opportunities in aged care, healthcare and early childhood education and care (ECEC).

About

Lenny Rosalin served as Deputy Minister for Gender Equality at the Indonesian Ministry of Women Empowerment and Child Protection from 2021 to 2024 and previously as Deputy Minister for the Fulfilment of Children’s Rights from 2014 to 2021. With decades long career in government service, beginning at the Ministry of National Development Planning, Lenny is a pioneer and champion for women’s empowerment and child protection in Indonesia. She now works as a Senior Consultant for the Asian Development Bank in Indonesia.