Women, Education, and Social Welfare
Vol. 3 No. 3 (2026): July - September 2026 | Women, Education, and Social Welfare

Women's Social Readiness in Indonesia's National Economic Heroes Program (PENA): A Feminist Social Work Perspective from Special Region of Yogyakarta, Indonesia

Bambang Rustanto (Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial Bandung)
Dyah Asri Gita Pratiwi (Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial Bandung)
Eri Susanto (Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial Bandung)
Tuti Kartika (Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial Bandung)
Ayi Haryani (Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial Bandung)
Aryohaji Istyawan (Politeknik Kesejahteraan Sosial Bandung)



Article Info

Publish Date
30 Jul 2026

Abstract

This study examines the social readiness of women beneficiaries transitioning from conditional cash assistance under the Family Hope Program (PKH) to productive entrepreneurship through the Indonesian Archipelago Economic Heroes Program (PENA) in the Special Region of Yogyakarta. Employing a qualitative phenomenological approach, the study involved ten women beneficiaries selected through purposive sampling. Data were collected through in-depth interviews, participatory observation, and document analysis and were analyzed using Miles, Huberman, and Saldaña’s interactive model and Creswell’s horizonalization technique. The findings reveal that social readiness is ambivalent and manifested across four interconnected dimensions: emotive-attitudinal, cognitive, behavioral, and aspirational readiness. Social accompaniment helped transform transitional anxiety into achievement motivation, although cognitive readiness remained limited by low micro-financial literacy. Women demonstrated strong work resilience, but their behavioral readiness was constrained by the double burden and unequal distribution of domestic labor. The beneficiaries also expressed a need for continued technical assistance and more accessible financing. Feminist social work analysis confirms that these limitations are shaped more by time poverty and patriarchal inequalities than by individual shortcomings.

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Journal Info

Abbrev

jiswel

Publisher

Subject

Humanities Education Environmental Science Law, Crime, Criminology & Criminal Justice Social Sciences

Description

As the mother of the generation, women hold a pivotal and indispensable position across all facets of life. This journal is a peer-reviewed journal dedicated to disseminating academic research on women, education, and social welfare. By fostering scholarly dialogue among researchers, it aims to ...