From Tokopedia COO to All Working Moms: We Got This!
Being a working mom is a whole new level of work-life balance.
“Working at Tokopedia is a preference, not a chore. I don’t see it as a burden, but something that provides a purpose to live. I, therefore, believe that being a mother and an employee can go hand in hand because both can provide lessons to each other,” said Melissa Siska Juminto, Chief Operating Officer of Tokopedia.
When faced with having to make a choice that involved their careers, women are often in a dilemma. Being the best in the office and also at home is not an easy matter - some even think that it’s almost impossible to be true. Fortunately, such stigma has been shifted and the new perspective allows women to not having to choose one over another.
Harvard Study in 2015 about How Working Motherhood Affects Children showed that children of working moms grow up just as happy as the children of moms who stayed home. More than 100,000 men and women across 29 countries revealed that having working female role models affect children to have more diverse career choices and the upbringing influences the way they educate their children in the future, namely to be independent, strong, and innovative. With the ability of having quality time with their family and giving their best at work, women are capable of nurturing a warm family while making a strong contribution to their workplaces.
The Women in Business 2019 survey by Grant Thornton that is conducted among 37 countries, showed that more senior positions in companies throughout the world started to be filled by women. Indonesian women themselves hold the highest number of senior positions in the Southeast Asia region, reaching 46%. This also indicates that the role of women in various fields is getting bigger: more female are uplifting the stability of many companies.
Women in the technology industry
As technology develops over time, there has been a shifting stigma around working women in technology-related industry. According to a study report by the UNESCO and the Korean Women’s Development Institute in 2015, several science-related educations in STEM field at Indonesian universities are in high demand by women. The number of Indonesian female students who have graduated from the science field has reached 52%, while 30% have finally taken part in the field.
It is the development in this era that drives Melissa Siska Juminto, Tokopedia’s Chief Operating Officer to love the world of technology and e-commerce. Seven years ago, Melissa had no idea that those would bring her to where she is today: being an important figure behind Tokopedia as one of the biggest tech players in Indonesia. The mission and vision brought by Tokopedia were the reason why Melissa joined and decided to continue the baton in realizing digital economic equality in Indonesia.
“Even before joining, I could feel that Tokopedia had a strong foundation. We are not just building a business, but we are building a better country and a better economy. Tokopedia has a solid goal and that goal is being applied to our everyday actions. We have always been holding on tight to our mission,” Melissa explained.
Growing with 9 other females in the company
In 2012, Melissa joined Tokopedia as the 44th employee, developing her knowledge alongside other 9 female employees. Melissa believes that the key to understanding the field of technology is a strong effort and will. To further encourage the role of women in the tech industry, Tokopedia has been providing equal opportunities to all employees, both male and female. At present, 46% of the employees at Tokopedia are women.
“I don’t think this is about an unequal job, but maybe it used to be more unusual. In the past, technology companies were dominated by men, but at Tokopedia, everyone was very supportive including William and Leon. We measure everyone equally through their performance and how they can make a better impact through focusing on our mission. Whenever there is an opportunity for promotion, both male and female leaders have the same equal rights to stand out.”
Since the very beginning, Melissa realized that working in a startup company like Tokopedia came with many challenges. Despite having an accounting background, Melissa was the person who managed to build the marketing team from scratch. After building Marketing and Business Development teams, Melissa began to recruit fresh graduates who had high enthusiasm and creativity and played the role of mothers who helped and groomed them to develop and learn.
Harmonious balance between being a leader and a mother
It is undeniable that being a mother at work is not an easy task — it doubles the difficulties of being a working mom at home. For Melissa, this can be solved by finding the harmony between work and family life. One way to do that is by synthesizing both the roles and the environments. She always introduces her work to her family so that both work and family life become a unified whole.
However, Melissa still needs to overcome some challenges to make everything well-balanced. For her, time is her biggest challenge in building harmony between work and family. She needs to make an extra effort in putting some time aside so that she could have more quality time with her family.
“Being a woman is not easy; we must continue to fight the status quo. Whatever people say, we must never give up to give the best so that we can achieve what we aspire,” said Melissa.
Melissa is also grateful to be able to work in a mother and child-friendly company like Tokopedia. It has complete facilities for mothers, such as the Nursing Room and the Kids Room. Those rooms are protected and free from interference from colleagues and other individuals.
Tips on being a working mom
According to Melissa, one of the most important things about working mom is communication. Working moms need to be able to tell their teams that they have another responsibility at home, while at the same time communicate with their family that they also have something to fulfill at the office. By managing their expectations, working moms can avoid disappointment and build mutual understanding with others.
Secondly, understanding priority is another key to being a working mom. At times where working moms have too many things to do, all they gotta do is set their priorities and again, communicate well. When working moms don’t set their priorities straight, everything will just fall apart.
“The way you build a family is the way you build a team,” Melissa said.
Your team can be your biggest support
“My colleagues are the people that add colors to my life,” Melissa said. Those people are the ones who taught Melissa that life is not easy and that it’s not how much you fail or how much you got rejected — it’s about how you can get back up.
Melissa shared that she always instills some values to her family and the team in Tokopedia, that we have to give our best shot without expecting anything in return. Not only that, but Melissa also believes that we have to be willing to admit to our mistakes and learn more along the way so that we can see something beyond ourselves and think about how we can make an impact on others.
