Enhancing women’s economic power is one of the important measures neededto narrow the gap in gender equality and contribute to sustainableeconomic development in each country and in the world.
Participants of the 14th ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organisations(ACWO) General Assembly made this affirmation at the first plenarysession in Hanoi on Oct. 19.
More than 200 delegates from 10ASEAN member countries and three dialogue partners -- China , Japanand the Republic of Korea -- and representatives from foreignembassies and international oganizations in Hanoi attended thetwo-day conference.
Laura Hang, President of theSingaporean Council of Women’s Organizations, said that despite theprogress obtained in gender equality over the past century, women’sposition in the society is still much lower than men.
Citing theresult of a survey by the US magazine Fortune, Hang said that in theeconomic sector, only three percent of 500 companies surveyed hadfemale CEOs and 15 percent of the board of directors were female. In theASEAN region, the rate of women participating in the work force islower than men and women get only 70-80 percent of salary at the samepositions as men.
Hang said that governments and enterprisesshould have policies to facilitate women to take part in economic andsocial areas. Active factors helping improve women’s economic powerinclude creating opportunities for women to receive better training,friendly working environments, enhanced leadership opportunities andparticipation in politics.
Sharing the same views, Meng Xiaosi,Vice President of the the All-China Women’s Federation, said thatenhancing women’s economic power will enhance their position not only inthe family, but also in society. To achieve this goal, they will needto be constantly trained.
To help strengthen women’s economicpower, especially after the global economic crisis, Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy,Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam’s Women’s Union (VWU),recommended ASEAN governments continue improve mechanisms andpolicies to ensure the effective participation of women in the making ofrecovery and post crisis development policies.
In addition, Thuysaid countries should strongly invest in poverty reduction and jobgeneration, not only in the fields where men dominate, such asinfrastructure and construction, but also in areas attracting may femaleworkers like services and trade.
They also said the VietnameseGovernment approved the project on supporting job training andgeneration for women in 2010-2015 in order to improve the effectivenessand competitiveness of female labour and raise status.
Those recommendations will be collected and put into the ACWO General Assembly Resolution to be approved on Oct. 20.
Theresolution will show the general assembly’s viewpoint, commitment andplan of actions to enhance women’s involvement and contributions to eachcountry’s development and promote the government’s pledge toadvancement of women and gender equality.
Addressing theopening ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that women’sparticipation and contributions to ASEAN foundation and development wasvery important and decisive.
He expressed his belief that theACWO General Assembly would generate many ideas and initiatives todevelop the potential of women to contribute more to the goal tobuilding an ASEAN Community and particularly the ASEAN Cultural andSocial Community, as well as constantly raising the quality andeffectiveness of ASEAN cooperation.
PM Dung said that inVietnam , women had a very important role and contributed much to thenational construction and defence. Over the past decades, the VietnameseParty and State always attached importance to women’s role and ensuredequality and the rights to develop, as well as created favourableconditions for women to contribute best to the country.
Vietnamesewomen have contributed much to the national renewal and held manyimportant positions in the country, including in ministries, sectors andlocalities.
At the conference, the VWU, as ACWO President for2008-2010 period, will transfer the presidency of ACWO to the NationalCouncil of Women’s Organisation of Indonesia for the 2010-2012 term.
The VWU said it believed ACWO’sactivities and programmes would contribute to enhancing the friendshipand cooperation among regional countries and turn the goals of ASEANCharter into reality while successfully building the ASEAN community by2015./.
Participants of the 14th ASEAN Confederation of Women’s Organisations(ACWO) General Assembly made this affirmation at the first plenarysession in Hanoi on Oct. 19.
More than 200 delegates from 10ASEAN member countries and three dialogue partners -- China , Japanand the Republic of Korea -- and representatives from foreignembassies and international oganizations in Hanoi attended thetwo-day conference.
Laura Hang, President of theSingaporean Council of Women’s Organizations, said that despite theprogress obtained in gender equality over the past century, women’sposition in the society is still much lower than men.
Citing theresult of a survey by the US magazine Fortune, Hang said that in theeconomic sector, only three percent of 500 companies surveyed hadfemale CEOs and 15 percent of the board of directors were female. In theASEAN region, the rate of women participating in the work force islower than men and women get only 70-80 percent of salary at the samepositions as men.
Hang said that governments and enterprisesshould have policies to facilitate women to take part in economic andsocial areas. Active factors helping improve women’s economic powerinclude creating opportunities for women to receive better training,friendly working environments, enhanced leadership opportunities andparticipation in politics.
Sharing the same views, Meng Xiaosi,Vice President of the the All-China Women’s Federation, said thatenhancing women’s economic power will enhance their position not only inthe family, but also in society. To achieve this goal, they will needto be constantly trained.
To help strengthen women’s economicpower, especially after the global economic crisis, Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy,Permanent Vice President of the Vietnam’s Women’s Union (VWU),recommended ASEAN governments continue improve mechanisms andpolicies to ensure the effective participation of women in the making ofrecovery and post crisis development policies.
In addition, Thuysaid countries should strongly invest in poverty reduction and jobgeneration, not only in the fields where men dominate, such asinfrastructure and construction, but also in areas attracting may femaleworkers like services and trade.
They also said the VietnameseGovernment approved the project on supporting job training andgeneration for women in 2010-2015 in order to improve the effectivenessand competitiveness of female labour and raise status.
Those recommendations will be collected and put into the ACWO General Assembly Resolution to be approved on Oct. 20.
Theresolution will show the general assembly’s viewpoint, commitment andplan of actions to enhance women’s involvement and contributions to eachcountry’s development and promote the government’s pledge toadvancement of women and gender equality.
Addressing theopening ceremony, Prime Minister Nguyen Tan Dung affirmed that women’sparticipation and contributions to ASEAN foundation and development wasvery important and decisive.
He expressed his belief that theACWO General Assembly would generate many ideas and initiatives todevelop the potential of women to contribute more to the goal tobuilding an ASEAN Community and particularly the ASEAN Cultural andSocial Community, as well as constantly raising the quality andeffectiveness of ASEAN cooperation.
PM Dung said that inVietnam , women had a very important role and contributed much to thenational construction and defence. Over the past decades, the VietnameseParty and State always attached importance to women’s role and ensuredequality and the rights to develop, as well as created favourableconditions for women to contribute best to the country.
Vietnamesewomen have contributed much to the national renewal and held manyimportant positions in the country, including in ministries, sectors andlocalities.
At the conference, the VWU, as ACWO President for2008-2010 period, will transfer the presidency of ACWO to the NationalCouncil of Women’s Organisation of Indonesia for the 2010-2012 term.
The VWU said it believed ACWO’sactivities and programmes would contribute to enhancing the friendshipand cooperation among regional countries and turn the goals of ASEANCharter into reality while successfully building the ASEAN community by2015./.
