Women’s participation in Vietnam’s NA higher than the world average: report

The figures were announced during a conference held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs in Hanoi on October 17 to summarise 10 years of the implementation of the Law on Gender Equality.

The event aimed to comprehensively assess the implementation of the law in all areas of political, economic, cultural and social life since the Gender Equality Law came into effect.

Reports at the conference showed that the percentage of Vietnamese women participating in politics at all levels has increased over the past 10 years. This is reflected in the rate of females who are Politburo members and members of the Party Central Committee, which has increased for three consecutive terms.

Notably, for the first time ever, the NA head is a female and there are also three Politburo members who are women. There are 13 out of 30 ministries, ministerial agencies and Governmental agencies, as well as 16 out of 63 provinces and cities, with key female leaders.

However, this proportion is still not commensurate with the potential of women and there are still barriers to women's participation.

In the economic sector, the percentage of women-owned enterprises increased from 4% in 2009 to 27.8% in 2017, the highest in Southeast Asia, and ranked 19th out of 54 in the 2017 Mastercard Index of Women Entrepreneurs, as well as ranked seventh worldwide in the Women Business Ownership ranking by Mastercard.

In the field of labour, the proportion of male and female labourers participating in the labour market has always maintained at a relatively stable level, of which female workers account for 48%.

At the event, the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Vietnam Women's Union Central Committee signed a cooperative document to jointly implement a programme on the enhancement of capacity building for women and promoting gender equality.