Garuda Indonesia Colours Magazine April 2019 | Page 4

Voice of Garuda
Voice of
Garuda
Dear valued Garuda Indonesia customers,
There are many things from which
one can draw inspiration, one of them
being the beloved and inspirational
story of a woman whose life was
constrained by unjust restrictions and
limitations. Such was the situation of
R. A. Kartini, whose birthday is
celebrated nationwide on April 21
every year. Her soul may have been
imprisoned, but the poise with which
she lived and the beliefs that made
her a national hero are not simply
legend; the spirit of women’s
liberation that she fought hard for
has inspired generations.
Today, women’s emancipation is
ingrained in the many layers of our
modern life. Within the Garuda Indonesia
Group alone, the number of women
who hold key positions has continued
to grow. This is not just the case with
pilots; women have also taken up a
slew of other professions in the
industry that are commonly associated
with men, whether as station manager,
mechanic, airline release manager
or in other strategic positions.
On a structural level in the
Garuda Indonesia Group, we have
women holding vice presidential (VP)
positions, such as Mitra Piranti, our VP of
Business Support and General Affairs,
Yanti Siregar, who holds the position of
VP Ground Service, Mega Hapsari
Ramadhani, our VP of Corporate Legal
and Compliance, Grahita Primasari, our
2
VP of Revenue Management, and Ria
Anugriani as VP of Internal Audit.
And there is no doubt that each of
these women in strategic positions
across the company has her own
inspiring story, such as Mitra Piranti,
the youngest female VP within the
Garuda Indonesia Group.
Mitra’s impressive career isn’t one that
transpired overnight. For Mitra, her
mother played a crucial role in teaching
her the importance of valuing her
independence as a woman as she
pursued her life ambitions and values.
It was her mother who taught her
resilience, discipline and to never give
up in the face of challenges and
difficult situations, realising that any
hardships on the way are important
experiences from which lessons can
be learned, experiences that one must
battle in order to become stronger.
Mitra’s mother also taught her the
value of honesty and reminded her
beloved daughter to always strive to do
more for others. With her teachings,
her mother played a critical role in
pushing Mitra to achieve more and to
be creative in order to become a
productive human being who is able to
motivate herself to keep on growing.
Stories like that of Mitra and her
mother are stories of modern-day
Kartinis, women who reach their
potential with determination, much like
Kartini, who fought with a vision and
not just her physical power. Through
her words she inspired women to
reach for their dreams. “The words
that I live by? ‘I want to!’ … The
phrase ‘I want to’ is what enables us
to reach mountaintops.”
Beyond empowerment, the women’s
emancipation movement is also about
women’s rights. And with this in mind,
the Garuda Indonesia Group offers five
months of maternity leave for its
employees, to encourage and support
exclusive breastfeeding for their
children. Meanwhile, male employees
are granted seven days of paternity
leave. Moreover, to support employees’
childcare, the company also offers
nursing rooms that mothers can use
once they return to work.
It is important to ensure that the best
nutrition is provided as early as
possible in order to gain maximum
benefit from it: health, strength, high
intellect, and the ability to, later on,
produce inspiring work.
Last but not least, we would like to
thank you, our customers, for your trust
and for flying with Garuda Indonesia.
Best regards,
Flytizen
Garuda Indonesia