Despite valiant efforts in promoting self-resilience towards the impact of beauty and appearance pressures, recent survey found that body image remains a crucial issue for most Indonesia women. The idea of certain standard of beauty among the society has created discomfort among women and affected the way they perceive their life, including in terms of professional career.

According to a research commissioned by Dove entitled “Indonesia Beauty Confidence Report 2017”, a staggering 72 percent women in Indonesia think that they must reach a certain beauty standard set in the society in order to succeed.

“Many Indonesian women feel that success depends on their physical beauty. Those who feel that they are not beautiful enough deemed that they would not be successful,” said Ira Noviarti, Personal Care Director Unilever Indonesia at Eastern Opulence in South Jakarta on Tuesday (Sept 25).

However, according to Miranti Burhan, Senior Brand Manager Dove and Tresemme said that the definition of beauty varies; “Everyone has a sense of beauty that differs from other people,” she said.

The research found that there are at least 38 percent Indonesian women who develop a habit of to comparing themselves with other women, which then resulted in their lack of confidence. This finding follows up to the data revealing that 84 percent female respondents in Indonesia who are unaware that they are considered beautiful, Tempo reports.

Miranti Burhan asserted that women must be able to feel comfortable with themselves prior to focusing on their physical beauty. She argued that a confident woman is a woman that has a higher chance of reaching success, and sometimes it has nothing to do with physical attractiveness.

Read also: Only 1 in 10 Firms in Japan Have Women in the C-Suite Roles