Empowerment of Women Tea Pickers (A Case Study on Lawu Mountainside in Karanganyar Regency)

The shift in women’s roles from domestic to public is a phenomenon in the development of the social, economic, and political reality of women. Women’s awareness of non-domestic roles is increasing but their involvement does not mean they are more empowered or that more attention is given to women’s rights. This research describes the shift in women’s roles and their contribution to meeting household needs, and how the empowerment of women is implemented. The research method is descriptive qualitative and the data analysis uses an interactive analysis. The research results show that there is a division of work in daily life, in which men work to fulfil their social needs while women have to bear the burden of their economic needs. This work division is seen in farm management, where men’s work is dominated by crops with a high economic value or livestock farming, while women’s work focuses on crops with a low economic values and small livestock. Empowerment of women is carried out in three ways: capacity building, cultural change, and structural adjustment, based on the social, political, and psychological strengths of women tea pickers.