The wage gap between female and male workers attracted attention of participants at a conference held in Hanoi on July 29 by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the Spanish Agency for Development Cooperation (AECID).
According to a joint survey by the MOLISA and the AECID on discrimination in wage and income of labourers in the 2006-2012 period, women workers were paid just 83 percent of what their men counterparts received on an average basis. In 2012, the monthly wage of women averaged 3.2 million VND compared to 3.855 million VND for men.
In almost all economic sectors, the average monthly wage of women workers was lower than that of men workers, except for the private sector, said the study.
The greatest gap was recorded in the foreign-invested sector in which women workers’ wage was only half of men workers’.
Participants at the conference were of the view that social traditions and prejudice against women have hindered women from accessing education opportunities and employment choices as well as skill improvement.
In addition, social preconception has led to the thinking that working productivity of women is lower than that of men, resulting in the discrimination in payment, they said.
They also called on ministries and sectors to promote women’s access to education as well as create favourable conditions for them to pursuit higher education and professional training, in order to increase their income.
At the same time, ministries and sectors should apply more support policies to encourage women’s greater engagement in different economic sectors and advancement in their career, they suggested.
The July 29 conference also looked at international labour standards on wage and income, the national legal framework on wage and income and key orientations in building a draft law on minimum wage in Vietnam.-VNA
According to a joint survey by the MOLISA and the AECID on discrimination in wage and income of labourers in the 2006-2012 period, women workers were paid just 83 percent of what their men counterparts received on an average basis. In 2012, the monthly wage of women averaged 3.2 million VND compared to 3.855 million VND for men.
In almost all economic sectors, the average monthly wage of women workers was lower than that of men workers, except for the private sector, said the study.
The greatest gap was recorded in the foreign-invested sector in which women workers’ wage was only half of men workers’.
Participants at the conference were of the view that social traditions and prejudice against women have hindered women from accessing education opportunities and employment choices as well as skill improvement.
In addition, social preconception has led to the thinking that working productivity of women is lower than that of men, resulting in the discrimination in payment, they said.
They also called on ministries and sectors to promote women’s access to education as well as create favourable conditions for them to pursuit higher education and professional training, in order to increase their income.
At the same time, ministries and sectors should apply more support policies to encourage women’s greater engagement in different economic sectors and advancement in their career, they suggested.
The July 29 conference also looked at international labour standards on wage and income, the national legal framework on wage and income and key orientations in building a draft law on minimum wage in Vietnam.-VNA
