Our Commitment to a Safe, Inclusive, and Fair Workplace

A safe, inclusive, and fair workplace is not built overnight. It requires continuous dialogue, reflection, and improvement. Since its establishment, Project Multatuli has sought to define, apply, and critically examine these values so that we can strengthen the ways we uphold integrity, accountability, and solidarity with marginalized communities in our daily work.

We have developed the Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion Policy (DEI Policy) as a guiding framework for all of us at Project Multatuli—including founders and advisers, collective leadership (collegial committee), employees, and volunteers—as well as for contributors (contributing journalists/photographers/illustrator/translators), consultants, and partners who work with us. This policy is intended to help ensure a safe and fair workspace and to promote equal opportunity regardless of background or identity.

At the same time, we recognize that Project Multatuli continues to face limitations and remains in an ongoing process of learning and growth. This policy is therefore open to revision in response to changing circumstances, new experiences, and criticism. We hope that this policy will not only create better conditions within Project Multatuli, but also contribute to a healthier and more inclusive media ecosystem in Indonesia.

 

Background

Over the past decade, media ownership in Indonesia has become increasingly concentrated in the hands of a small elite, with much of the industry controlled by conglomerates closely linked to political parties and those in power. In 2025, the press faces an additional threat in the form of a regime with increasingly militaristic tendencies. Journalists continue to face threats, violence, intimidation, and other forms of repression as a consequence of efforts to maintain independence and safeguard democracy.

At the same time, the media industry is undergoing profound uncertainty. Since the pandemic in 2020, waves of layoffs affecting hundreds of media workers have taken place amid worsening economic and political instability. These developments risk deepening long-standing inequalities within Indonesia’s media ecosystem.

According to a 2025 report by the Alliance of Independent Journalists (AJI), women make up only 23.2 percent of journalists in Indonesia, while men account for 76.7 percent. Our review of membership data from Pewarta Foto Indonesia also indicates that women photojournalists make up less than 5 percent of the total.

Other data from AJI Indonesia show that 75.1 percent of journalists, out of 2,020 respondents, have experienced violence in either digital or physical forms.

AJI, together with the Center for Media Regulation and Regulator Monitoring (Pemantau Regulasi dan Regulator Media/PR2Media), has also reported that 82.6 percent of women journalists have experienced sexual violence while carrying out journalistic work. More broadly, reported cases of gender-based and sexual violence in Indonesia continue to rise. The National Commission on Violence Against Women (Komnas Perempuan) recorded 4,472 cases of violence against women in 2025, a 7 percent increase from the previous year.

These figures make clear that not only is press freedom under serious threat, but the media ecosystem itself can also become a space marked by inequality, low diversity, inadequate protection, and high levels of violence, including sexual violence.

On the side of news sources, the latest Indonesian study available, conducted by Tempo Institute in 2018, found that only 11 percent of sources in political economy reporting were women. A global study published by UN Women at the end of 2025 reported a higher figure of 26 percent, yet this remains far below what should be expected given that women make up half of the world’s population.

Project Multatuli was founded as a public-serving journalism initiative in the midst of these conditions. For us, it is not enough to commit only to scrutinizing power as a precondition for democracy. We must also work to create a safe and inclusive workplace, and to produce journalism that is fairer and more equitable.

 

Scope and Purpose

This policy on a safe, inclusive, and fair workplace applies primarily to Project Multatuli employees, including the collegial committee. Certain aspects are regulated in more detail through Organizational Regulations, standard operating procedures (SOP), internal mechanisms, and other policies that are binding on employees.

At the same time, this policy also applies more broadly within Project Multatuli’s working environment, particularly through our Code of Conduct and our Guidelines for the Prevention and Handling of Sexual Violence (Anti-Sexual Violence SOP), both of which also apply to contributors, partners, and other parties who work with us.

This policy aims to:

1. encourage and ensure diversity among employees from different backgrounds, particularly by improving the proportion and representation of women and minority groups within the organization;
2. ensure fair, equal, and inclusive treatment in terms of opportunity, access, and allocation of resources in the face of systemic inequality and injustice; and
3. foster a culture and practice of respect for every person, regardless of difference.

Code of Conduct

All stakeholders at Project Multatuli are expected to uphold the principles that define our organization:

1. independence and the primacy of conscience;
2. respect for truth and the public’s right to know;
3. commitment to democratic values and human rights;
4. respect for diversity and a rejection of discrimination on the basis of race, ethnicity, religion, sex and gender, disability, or social class;
5. active efforts to advance equality and justice across race, ethnicity, religion, sex and gender, disability, social class, and other marginalized identities;
6. the creation of safe spaces for all people, regardless of sexual orientation, gender identity, religion, ethnicity, or socioeconomic background;
7. commitment to transparency, honesty, and accountability; and
8. for journalists, adherence to the journalistic code of ethics.

Our Code of Conduct is inspired by that of AJI, the professional association of journalists in Indonesia founded in 1994 to defend press freedom, democracy, and the public’s right to information.

 

Diversity, Equity, and Social Inclusion

We believe that human rights and diversity are fundamental to every individual, both in legal frameworks and in ethical standards. Project Multatuli upholds human rights and diversity as universal, inherent, inalienable, non-discriminatory, indivisible, and interdependent.

1. Diversity
   We are committed to building a workplace that reflects diversity in sexual orientation, gender identity and expression, sex characteristics, religion, age, ability, ethnicity, and other backgrounds.
2. Equity
   We are committed to treating all employees fairly and equitably, while supporting affirmative measures that enable full and meaningful participation.
3. Social Inclusion
   We are committed to ensuring that everyone feels valued and respected, regardless of difference, and to promoting equal access and participation.

 

Implementation

The implementation of this policy is further detailed through a series of internal regulations, procedures, and operational measures across different levels of the organization. As a media organization, we also apply principles of justice and inclusion within our journalistic work.

We maintain an annual deliberative mechanism that includes organizational reflection, performance reporting, strategic planning, financial audits, and impact reporting. Through these processes, we monitor, review, report on, and improve policies and practices related to diversity, equity, and inclusion.

 

Organizational and Legal Framework

Currently, our workforce consists of 50 percent women, 33 percent young people, and 11 percent queer individuals. We also work with contributors and consultants, and we monitor diversity representation among them, particularly in relation to gender and other minority identities.

1. In addition to our Code of Conduct, we have Organizational Regulations that explicitly strengthen provisions related to a safe and fair working environment, as well as non-discriminatory and inclusive employee rights and obligations. These regulations also define “family” and “life partner” beyond a cis-heteronormative framework, allowing leave provisions to be adjusted accordingly, including adoption leave and gender-affirming leave for transgender employees. Similarly, our Anti-Sexual Violence SOP has been expanded to address the specific vulnerabilities faced by women and other minority groups.
2. In recruitment and selection, we believe diversity strengthens the organization. We therefore welcome individuals from all backgrounds to work with us, partner with us, and contribute to our mission. We also make conscious efforts in outreach and awareness-building to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion, especially for minority groups.
3. In staff development, we provide all employees with access to education and training opportunities that broaden their understanding of diversity, equity, and inclusion. We also specifically monitor and provide training on sexual violence issues and gender diversity.
4. In our budgeting, we allocate dedicated funding for mental health support, reproductive health, recovery support for survivors of violence, and access to education and training.
   Implementation of our organizational policies is monitored through surveys, assessments of organizational culture and employee satisfaction, and periodic reporting.

 

Journalistic Framework (Newsroom)

This policy is also specifically implemented in our newsroom to ensure compliance with journalistic ethical standards and to realize our mission of serving marginalized communities.

Based on publication data from 2021 to 2025, our journalistic work includes 49.8 percent women sources and 1.87 percent non-binary sources; 39.7 percent women writers or journalists and 2.98 percent non-binary writers or journalists; 44.5 percent contributors who are women, transgender, or non-binary; 34.5 percent reporting or research conducted outside Java; and collaborations with dozens of organizations aimed at increasing public understanding of neglected issues.

1. We are committed to building a gender-sensitive newsroom.
2. We are committed to creating more opportunities for women and representatives of other minority groups to write, photograph, illustrate, research, and report.
3. We are committed to increasing and maintaining the proportion of women sources and representatives of other minority groups in our journalism.
4. We uphold a duty of care in journalism in order to avoid and minimize harm to sources, subjects, vulnerable or minority groups, and the public. This includes obtaining prior informed consent from sources, particularly survivors of violence and children.

 

Beyond the Newsroom: Everyday Working Practices

As a public journalism initiative, we recognize that our work often extends beyond journalism itself. For that reason, the implementation of this policy is not limited to our organizational structure and newsroom, but also applies to broader working environments, including trainings, public campaigns, events, and collaborative partnerships with various actors.

This includes:

1. designing teams that reflect diverse backgrounds and ensuring balanced representation in planning and evaluation;
2. ensuring diversity among content contributors, speakers, and panelists, including a commitment to avoiding all-male panels and promoting minority representation and inclusive content;
3. paying attention to accessibility, both physical and non-physical, so that vulnerable and minority groups can fully participate;
4. building safe spaces through discussion and preparation from the outset;
5. promoting collaboration and participation with diverse stakeholders, especially through affirmative support for marginalized groups; and
6. maintaining monitoring and complaint mechanisms through open dialogue and clear, trusted, and reliable reporting channels.

 

Further Information

Project Multatuli’s policies and periodic reports, including our Impact Report, are open to the public. Requests for documents related to this policy, as well as for impact reports, may be directed to the Project Multatuli Team Manager at [email protected].

 

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