Abstract:

Furniture making is an important economic activity in Indonesia most especially in the central
Javanese regency of Jepara. Jepara’s pedigree in furniture making is embodied in the wood
carving skills that date many centuries ago and today Jepara has evolved into a furniture
industrial district in Indonesia. Although furniture making has been a mainstay of most
inhabitants in Jepara; the intense local competition has compromised the profitability of this
industry. Thus it is crucial to find ways for upgrading if the livelihoods of the dependents are to
be improved as well as the industry’s contribution to national economic growth optimized. A six
months (March through August; 2010) socio-economic study intended to complement the
ongoing upgrading process was conducted to bridge the knowledge gap of the place of the
prevailing gender relations in this industry’s upgrading process. A total of 139 observations
involving the main actors in the chain are informing this study. The study reveals that both male
and female workers are actively involved at every node of this value chain conducting mainly
primary and support activities respectively. However; more males than females are engaged in
furniture value addition at the moment. Furthermore; both male and female workers’ skills are
lacking although women’s skills may be much poorer than men in this regard. This skill gap
between male and female workers in Jepara affects considerably their respective returns to
labour. Additionally; women’s active involvement in furniture value addition is further
constrained by socio-cultural environment that dictates gender and the resultant family power
relations. However; both male and female skills can be enabled in order to achieve cost and
differentiation advantages respectively. Such advantages may drive down costs of production
considerably thereby forming a major competitive advantage for this industry. But for women to
increasingly get involved; the socio-cultural environment needs to be upgraded first.