Beyond home and office: Women's quest for identity and self-actualization in urban third places in Jakarta

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the experiences of working women in Jakarta's urban environment, focusing on third places, which are spaces transcending home and work as sites for self-actualization. Using a feminist perspective and the “right to the city” framework, it explored how these spaces supported diversity, social inclusion, and resistance against structural discrimination. Based on in-depth interviews with ten women working in Jakarta's Sudirman and Kuningan districts, this phenomenological study showed that capitalist-driven urban structures and patriarchal norms constrained women's social interactions, rendering third places increasingly individualistic, utilitarian, and commercialized. Traditional gender roles further burden women with caregiving responsibilities, even in public settings. Women still adopt adaptive strategies despite the stated constraints, specifically reclaiming multifunctional physical spaces and extending their presence into digital third places such as social media, online forums, and messaging platforms to foster solidarity and professional growth. However, structural barriers, such as the dominance of commercial spaces, lack of safe public areas, and gendered mobility restrictions, continue to hinder full self-actualization. To transform third places into truly empowering environments, urban policy should prioritize gender-sensitive planning, invest in inclusive and non-commercial public spaces, and dismantle systemic inequalities that shape the city.