The role and involvement of women in the political sector still falls well short of optimal, as stated by Kazuki Iwanaga in Seibel (2010, p. 155), that women outnumber men in terms of population size while their number and role in politics are low. Therefore, the suggestion that men dominate politics is undoubtedly true. There are several reasons why women’s representation in politics is deemed to be crucial, such as their input into public policy issues regarding women and children, the social environment, moral values, and women’s multitasking skills. Expanding democratic values, giving a perception that all citizens, including women, have the same rights and opportunities to take part in politics, as well as the actual participation of women in politics (particularly in the People’s Representative Council/Regional People’s Representative Council) are all areas where the reality remains far from what might be expected.

According to Idris (2010, p. 238), many analyses have shown that political behavior requires at least three characteristics: a) independence, b) freedom of speech, and c) aggressive action. Regrettably, these characteristics are never considered ideal for women in certain culture, and these characteristics are never expected exist in themselves. Nimrah and Sakaria (2015, pp. 175–176) cite a number of factors influencing the selection patterns of men and women as legislative members, including: a) a strong patriarchal culture; b) the selection process within political parties; c) the vital role of the media in shaping public opinion regarding the importance of women’s representation in parliament; and d) the lack of networks (including mass organizations, non-governmental bodies, and political parties) striving for women’s representation. In the context of the current push to have a higher proportion of female legislative members, women encounter countless obstacles and challenges, either from society or political parties. Thus, it is up to women themselves to fight to achieve this.

In Indonesia, only 10% representation of woman in parliament, although the 2004 Election Law specified a minimum of 30% of legislative members should be women. Nevertheless, this percentage is hard to fulfilled due to difficulty of finding eligible female candidates to fill the 30% of seats required compared to the percentage of male legislative members. According to Song (2016, pp. 92–93) in China, the carefully designed election system and its strict implementation by local government bodies has successfully satisfied the gender quota goals, but the increased number of women members does not necessarily lead to the enhanced representation of women and change fundamentally the power distribution between men and women. Legal experts opine that legal supports are of paramount importance for the political future of women for two reasons: Creating opportunities for women to be engaged more actively in politics; and encouraging political parties and civil society to engage in political strengthening and community outreach to millennial young women in order to raise political awareness, improve political competence, and increase political interest that will ultimately result in women’s increased participation in politics.

A study by Idris (2010, p. 129) indicates that women’s activities in the political sector are inextricably linked to political interest, political awareness, and political competence. Seibel (2010, p. 155), in a quantitative study, also examines the correlation between nine socio-economic factors and the level of political participation of 300 middle-class women living in Bangkok, finding that age, exposure to news, and educational background (competence) positively correlate with women’s involvement in politics. This study, however, analyzes whether or not political awareness and political competence act simultaneously as variables for increasing the political interest of millennial young women.

A person is unlikely to successfully complete a task if she/he is not interested in doing so. On the other hand, the person who is willing to perform the task wholeheartedly will also have better results. Harackiewicz, Smith, and Priniski (2016, p. 220) define interest as a strong motivational process that gives the energy to guide a career trajectory, and is essential for success. This implies that interest is closely related to motivation. Interest is a personal emotion, meaning that the interests of each individual differ. One’s interest is not inherently developed, yet it can change according to needs, experiences, and trending fashions. Due to the experiences, new insights, and new thinking patterns, undesirable things will become desirable. Priansa (2014, p. 282) explains that interest is a strong tendency, passion, or desire toward something. Bernard in Sardiman (2012, p. 76) notes that interest is not a sudden or spontaneous feeling. Instead, it comes from participation, experiences, and habits while studying or working. Next, Slameto (2013, p. 58) mentions the characteristics of having an interest in an object or activity, which are a) paying constant attention to the object; b) enjoying the object; c) being proud of and satisfied with the object; d) being attracted to the activity; e) preferring desirable objects to others; f) having fully support upon desirable activities. In this context, political interest refers to great interest in and the expenditure of energy on political issues and activities, and is characterized by constant attention, enjoyment, pride, and satisfaction, along with participative support.

Maharani and Mustika (2016, p. 60) argue that self-awareness is an ability to recognize and understand what is sensed about an object, thereby having implications for one’s own behavior and that of other individuals. Political awareness, as described by Wolsfeld (2014, pp. 115–116), is a concern about politics that is affected by comprehension and knowledge. Surbakti in Tyas and Hermanto (2014, p. 275) defines political awareness as an understanding of the rights and responsibilities of citizens regarding various aspects of life and community environments. Meanwhile, Surbakti (1992, p. 144) opines that political awareness and trust in government influence political participation. Strong awareness of and trust in government will lead to active political participation, and vice versa. Perangin-angin and Zainal (2018, p. 752), in their study, reveal that political participation by the younger generation (university students) is low due to their superficial understanding of the real meaning of politics and its importance for everyday life. They merely associate politics with political parties and political actors, which gives them no motivation for taking an active role in this sector. Subiakto and Ida in Kartiwa (2009, p. 319) state that factors contributing to political awareness include social status, economic status, family environment, and organizational experience. Drawing from the above notion, political awareness is described as an ability to recognize and understand what is felt about politics, which can have implications for one’s own behavior and that of other individuals, and it is affected by knowledge/comprehension, environment/association, and organizational experience.

People with good levels of competence can perform specific tasks well. Competence is gained through a learning process that takes some time, and is therefore seen as a learning outcome. Mulyadi, Basuki, and Rahardjo (2018, p. 276) describe competence as a quality a person possesses to be able to carry out particular duties. Under the Act of the Republic of Indonesia on National Education System, “competence” refers to the acquisition by graduates of abilities that encompass attitude, knowledge, and skills in accordance with the national standards. Additionally, Indriastuti (2018, p. 15) states that, through organizational experience, many female politicians have learned the political lessons that provide the competence needed to improve their competitiveness as politicians. Budiardjo (2008, p. 15) describes politics as an effort to determine regulations that most people can agree on, and that will create a better life. In short, “political competence” describes abilities that include attitudes, knowledge, and skills in defining regulations/ policies that can direct society to a harmonious life. Such abilities are acquired through formal and non-formal education, and through experience.

Speaking of both millennial young men and young women, they have dominant characteristics, including a) a preference for freedom; b) not being bound by strict rules; c) a preference for jobs with more flexible working hours; d) a critical attitude and curiosity. Their perception of career aspirations is different from the prior generations and their hard and soft skills are also unique and varied. Interactive (2019) mentions the characteristics of millennials, which are: a) prioritizing passion over salary, whereby a high salary with a poor work environment will make them quit; b) taking the importance of personal development into consideration; c) highly competitive; d) a close interaction with technology; e) interested in working for prestigious companies; f) tending to switch jobs; g) enjoying a flexible work style; h) prioritizing a work-life balance; i) needing a leader to direct them; and j) interested in becoming an entrepreneur.

Based on the above analysis and observations, this research study seeks to produce a mathematical model for strengthening the political interest of millennial young women that can be a reference for the political development of this generation. It is also expected that the models of political development can suggest methods for the intellectual enlightenment of millennial young women in the digital era.

This present work relied on a quantitative explanatory method with a survey to determine the effect of independent variables X₁ (political awareness) and X₂ (political competence) on the dependent variable Y (political interest). The sample consisted of 121 millennial young women students at the As-Syafi’iyah Islamic University in Jakarta, chosen through simple random sampling. The data were collected from a questionnaire using a four-point Likert scale (strongly agree = 4; agree = 3; disagree = 2; strongly disagree = 1). Data was analyzed using mean and multiple regressions. Normality, heteroscedasticity, autocorrelation, and multicollinearity tests were performed prior to the regression analysis.

The results of the descriptive analysis of the three variables comprise measures of central tendency and measures of dispersion, which are mean, median, mode, standard error of mean, standard deviation, variance, range, minimum score, and maximum score. A complete data description is given in Table 3 below.

The data descriptions of variables Y (political interest), X₁ (political awareness), and X₂ (political competence) as shown in Table 3 are explained with a score reference, i.e., 4 = good; 3 = fair; 2 = poor; 1 = bad. The mean for the political interest of millennial young women is 2.4475, with a standard of error of 0.035; this is categorized as poor. Thus, the political interest of the above-mentioned women should be increased. The mean for the political awareness of millennial young women is 2.9879 with a standard of error of .0349; this is categorized as fair. Therefore, the political awareness of millennial young women should be raised. In addition, the mean for the political competence of millennial young women is 2.3034 with a standard of error of 0.045 and falls into the poor category. Accordingly, the political competence of those women should be improved.

The results reveal that political interest (Y) has a positive and strong correlation with political awareness (X₁) and political competence (X₂), with the multiple correlation coefficient R = 0.723. Thus, the higher the political awareness and political competence of millennial young women, the higher the level of their political interest. Simply put, sharpening the political awareness and political competence of millennial young women can also improve their political interest. It is also found that political awareness and political competence between them contribute 52.2% to political interest. In the same vein, Perangin-angin and Zainal (2018, p. 752), who conducted a study involving university students in Bandung, Jakarta, and Surabaya, discovered that political participation among students is low due to their superficial understanding of the real meaning of politics (low political competence). They merely associate politics with political parties and political actors, and have therefore not engaged in this sector, either online or offline. Also, Zuckermann (2005) states that one’s decision to take an interest in politics (voting) is affected by knowledge/competence, embraced cultural values, and family expectations. Himelboim, Lariscy, Tinkham, and Sweetser (2012, p. 92) point out that political discussion in a family environment is among the factors that helps beginner voters in making political decisions. Nevertheless, political discussion within families hardly ever takes place, leaving millennials with no great interest in politics. In today’s digital era, talking about politics with the family has been left behind and millennials find it more comfortable to discuss topics with their peers.

Beaumont, Colby, Ehrlich, and Torney-Purta (2006, p. 249) note that political participation is crucial in terms of democratic legitimacy; yet, political competence has not been optimally developed and promoted among millennials. Moreover, the result of the variance analysis performed by Beaumont et al. on 481 students indicates that the intervention of political education (political competence improvement) by focusing on political involvement significantly enhances the political participation of millennials. Tyas and Hermanto (2014, p. 275) elaborate that among the activities influencing political awareness are political education, political community outreach, political communication, and political participation. Political parties could refer to the activities mentioned earlier to raise awareness and increase the political interest of millennial young women as beginner voters. The political parties need to conduct political education/community outreach/communication/participation by using media that are popular among tech-savvy millennials, such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube.

According to Shvedova (as cited in OpCit Research, 2013, p. 32), the obstacles every woman worldwide has encountered in taking part in politics comprise structural, situational, and social barriers. The implication of this study, similar to the findings of Ferrin, Fraile, Garcia-Albacete, and Gómez (2019, p. 486), is that the gender gap in the political sector is due to many indicators that, at times, unintentionally disregard the different substantive interests of men and women. For this reason, further studies on men’s and women’s attitudes toward politics need to be considered, especially in relation to the difference in interests, concerns, and experiences between men and women.

The conclusions of this study are as follows: a) political participation is very important for democratic legitimacy, thus requiring a great deal of effort to intensify political participation among millennial young women through the improvement of their level of political interest; b) political awareness and political competence between them contribute 52.2% of millennial young women’s political interest; the remaining 47.8% is contributed by other factors; c) political competence has a significantly stronger influence than political awareness; d) the political competence and political awareness of millennial young women can be improved through various online and offline programs that fit their characters, i.e., possessing an excellent technological intelligence, including technological-based media familiar to millennials such as Facebook, Instagram, Twitter, and YouTube. One limitation of this research, however, is that the research respondents were students from a private college in Jakarta, so conducting further research using the same questionnaire but with respondents from State Universities or college students from other countries with different characteristics would be valuable.