Hanoi (VNA) – A policy dialogue on gender equality was held in Hanoi on March 4 with the participation of 100 representatives from ministries, sectors and non-governmental organisations, and experts at home and abroad.
Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Pham Thi Hai Chuyen reiterated the Vietnamese Party and State’s policy of ensuring gender parity and human rights for women and girls.
The event would create an opportunity for participants to exchange views on a more effective implementation of the national strategy on gender equality, an action programme on gender equality, and a social-economic development plan towards sustainable development goals in the country from now to 2020, she said.
UN Resident Coordinator in Vietnam Pratibha Mehta said in 2015, leaders across the globe gathered in New York to ratify the UN sustainable development goals. President Truong Tan Sang underlined Vietnam’s efforts to implement measures that would abolish gender gaps in all fields, she added.
Mehta said she hopes the country will double its efforts to implement the national strategy and action programme on gender equality.
Deputy head of MOLISA’s department on gender equality Hoang Thi Thu Huyen noted that labourers aged above 15 years numbered 54.61 million in 2015, 48.3 percent of whom were women. The proportion of female business players was 24.9 percent, up 0.5 percent against 2013.
She highlighted priorities to promote gender equality, such as building and perfecting law and policy, organising activities towards the election of female deputies to the 14 th National Assembly and the People’s Councils at all levels for the 2016-2021 tenure, and enhancing communication campaigns in the field.
Increasing scientific research and international cooperation on gender equality and women’s advancement is also essential, she added.
At the dialogue, Vietnamese ministries, sectors and UN representatives pledged to further support each other to ensure an equitable society for women and girls.-VNA