The wage gap between female and male workers attracted attention ofparticipants at a conference held in Hanoi on July 29 by the Ministry ofLabour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the Spanish Agency forDevelopment Cooperation (AECID).
According to ajoint survey by the MOLISA and the AECID on discrimination in wage andincome of labourers in the 2006-2012 period, women workers were paidjust 83 percent of what their men counterparts received on an averagebasis. In 2012, the monthly wage of women averaged 3.2 million VNDcompared to 3.855 million VND for men.
In almost alleconomic sectors, the average monthly wage of women workers was lowerthan 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 traditionsand prejudice against women have hindered women from accessingeducation opportunities and employment choices as well as skillimprovement.
In addition, social preconception hasled to the thinking that working productivity of women is lower thanthat of men, resulting in the discrimination in payment, they said.
They also called on ministries and sectors to promote women’s accessto education as well as create favourable conditions for them to pursuithigher education and professional training, in order to increase theirincome.
At the same time, ministries and sectorsshould apply more support policies to encourage women’s greaterengagement in different economic sectors and advancement in theircareer, they suggested.
The July 29 conference alsolooked at international labour standards on wage and income, thenational legal framework on wage and income and key orientations inbuilding a draft law on minimum wage in Vietnam.-VNA
According to ajoint survey by the MOLISA and the AECID on discrimination in wage andincome of labourers in the 2006-2012 period, women workers were paidjust 83 percent of what their men counterparts received on an averagebasis. In 2012, the monthly wage of women averaged 3.2 million VNDcompared to 3.855 million VND for men.
In almost alleconomic sectors, the average monthly wage of women workers was lowerthan 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 traditionsand prejudice against women have hindered women from accessingeducation opportunities and employment choices as well as skillimprovement.
In addition, social preconception hasled to the thinking that working productivity of women is lower thanthat of men, resulting in the discrimination in payment, they said.
They also called on ministries and sectors to promote women’s accessto education as well as create favourable conditions for them to pursuithigher education and professional training, in order to increase theirincome.
At the same time, ministries and sectorsshould apply more support policies to encourage women’s greaterengagement in different economic sectors and advancement in theircareer, they suggested.
The July 29 conference alsolooked at international labour standards on wage and income, thenational legal framework on wage and income and key orientations inbuilding a draft law on minimum wage in Vietnam.-VNA
