Empowering Women through Competence Advancement in an Indonesia’s Export-oriented False Eyelashes MSME: Strategic Approaches to Encounter Global Market Challenges

In the dynamic landscape of business operations, human resources play an important role in the success of micro, small, and medium enterprises (MSMEs) as business entity which are able to absorb 2/3 of the world’s total workforce. This is also the case in Indonesia, where MSMEs are influential in economic growth and are expected to become Indonesia’s export milestone. One industry that has the role of MSMEs especially in export activities, is the false eyelashes industry. Uniquely, unlike most other industries, workers in this industry are dominated by women. Unfortunately, the amount of workers absorbed by MSMEs is not directly proportional to their quality. In fact, it is crucial for MSMEs in false eyelashes industry to have a workforce that is qualified in terms of its competence considering their global level of challenges. Hence, this study explores strategies for advancing the competence of women workers in the export-oriented false eyelashes MSME as part of a broader movement of women empowerment, utilizing the ‘Kekeluargaan’ culture implementation. Notably, despite its significant presence, this company has not been the object of prior research. Furthermore, there is a notable gap in the literature regarding the research context, particularly within this industry. This research using a qualitative case study methodology with the type of explorative study and inductive approach conducted, PT Diva Prima Cemerlang, an export-oriented MSME in Central Java, serves as the research object. Data were collected through in-depth interviews and direct observations which were manually processed with thematic analysis. This research suggests that applying three specific strategies within the concept of the ‘Kekeluargaan’ culture as working fundamental is expected to advance workers’ competence and achieve women empowerment goals. This research provides valuable insights into HRM strategies tailored to the needs of Indonesian women workers, aiding their competence advancement to meet global market challenges in the false eyelashes industry.