PM urges all efforts to support women’s advancement

Prime Minister Pham Minh Chinh met female leaders of centrally-run agencies and presented Kovalevskaia Awards on the occasion of International Women’s Day (March 8) in Hanoi on March 7 to honour the contributions of Vietnamese women to national construction and development.

Speaking at the event, the PM extended his best wishes to heroic Vietnamese mothers and all Vietnamese women, female leaders, managers and scientists.

He said under the Party leadership and with support of the National Assembly and directions of the Government, female personnel work and gender equality have reaped positive achievements over the past years.

According to him, female deputies of the Vietnamese legislature account for 30.3%, ranking 64th globally, fourth in Asia and first in ASEAN Inter-Parliamentary Assembly (AIPA). Key leadership positions held by women in ministries, ministry-level and Government agencies make up a half, nearing the target set for 2025.

The number of female officers engaged in scientific research is increasing. Many have achieved success domestically and internationally, recognised by the world for their high economic value. Among them, numerous collectives and individuals have been awarded with the noble Kovalevskaia Awards, he said.

He added that Vietnam’s achievements in gender equality and women's advancement have been recognised by the United Nations and international community. Vietnam ranked 83rd out of 146 countries in the gender equality index, up four places from 2021. Vietnam was also one of the 14 countries to be elected to the UN Human Rights Council for the 2023-2025 tenure with a high number of votes. The country's current stature and reputation have been obtained thanks to significant contributions from women.

On the occasion, he hailed the Ministry of Home Affairs, the Vietnam Women's Union, the National Committee for the Advancement of Women in Vietnam, ministries, agencies and localities for their efforts in female personnel work, gender equality and women's advancement, making important contributions to the country's overall achievements.

The leader requested that the national strategy on gender equality for 2021-2030 be carried out effectively, recognizing three national target programmes related to women affairs and gender equality.

He also asked for continuing to fine-tune policies and laws on gender equality as well as pay further attention to planning the recruitment and promotion of female personnel to leadership and management positions at all levels, saying this is a regular and important task and the responsibility of the entire political system, especially leaders.

At the event, PM Chinh presented Kovalevskaia Awards to a group of 10 female scientists from the Hanoi University of Pharmacy’s Faculty of Pharmacology and Prof. Le Minh Thang, a senior lecturer from the Hanoi University of Science and Technology’s School of Chemical Engineering in recognition of their outstanding scientific research achievements in 2022.

The Kovalevskaia Award was named after Russian mathematician Sofia Kovalevskaia and was first presented in Vietnam in 1986. It is the first national award for female scientists.

The prestigious annual award is given to organisations and individuals who are female scientists and have excellent achievements in research and applying science into life, bringing in benefits in different fields including economy, society and culture.