Gender equality under discussion at parliament's session

Hanoi (VNS/VNA) — Reducing the gender gap in the areas of politics and labour force participation was among the top issues at the on-going session of the 14th National Assembly (NA) meeting on November 9, during the broader discussion of the national target on gender equality.

According to the Government report, efforts by ministries, sectors and localities to enhance gender equality have achieved encouraging results. Policies and legal regulations on the issue have been gradually completed, creating more favourable conditions for women in various fields.

However, the implementation in some localities and agencies remains ineffective and has fallen short of targets.

Regarding gender equality in the field of politics, many deputies said not enough attention has been paid to improving the rate of women’s participation in administration bodies.

Deputy Nguyen Thi Thu Ha from the northern province of Bac Giang said the women have had lower odds of success than men in the 14th NA election. The percentage of women in the 14th NA is 39.2 percent while that figure for men is 68.4 percent.

Deputy Phan Van Tuong from the northern province of Thai Nguyen proposed the NA spend more time discussing the implementation of gender equality policies.  

Lawmakers also raised concerns about gender inequality in the field of labour and employment. They stressed that the employment quality of female workers remains unstable and they often work in the low-skilled fields.

Deputy Truong Thi Bich Hanh from the southern province of Binh Duong said 70 percent of female labourers work in the fields of services, garments and textiles, and footwear.

The rate at which women receiving training is lower than that of men, while the unemployment rate among women is higher than that of men. The average income of a paid female worker is 10.7 percent lower than that of men, she said.

Some deputies mentioned the sacking of female workers over 35 years old at a number of enterprises that have received foreign direct investment.

They also discussed other issues relating to the national target on gender equality, including retirement age and retirement pension, violence against women and girls, the trafficking of women and children, and gender imbalance at birth.

Closing the discussion, NA Vice Chairwoman Tong Thi Phong said the NA asked the Government to complete related legal documents on gender equality and incorporate gender equality in socio-economic development plans.

Attention should also be paid to human resources training and development, raising public awareness of gender equality and increasing supervision over the implementation of gender equality.

Based on the Government report and opinions of NA deputies, the parliament would guide the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs to study and seriously implement measures to fulfill gender equality goals in the future, she added.-VNA