Vietnam pledges to promote gender equality, women’s empowerment

At the dialogue (Photo: Vietnamplus)

Hanoi (VNA) - Vietnam is committed to promoting gender equality and women’s empowerment, especially in employment and labour, said Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha.

Ha told the inaugural ASEAN-US Ministerial Dialogue on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment on September 29 that the Vietnamese Government has issued various support policies for women in vocational training and employment. The policies support the application of advanced learning technologies and flexible training programmes to provide women with better access to education.

Recognising the value and important role of women in security and national development, Ha stated Vietnam adopted the United Nations Security Council’s Resolution 1325 on the Women, Peace and Security Agenda and other relevant resolutions. In addition, the country has issued a programme on gender-based violence prevention and response for the 2021-2025 period in order to raise public awareness of this issue and strengthen the responsiveness of gender-based violence prevention and response service providers.

"To deliver gender equality commitments, ASEAN members must cooperate closely and mobilise support from other countries. We wish for more support from the US in realising gender equality commitments, thus empowering women in employment and economic recovery post pandemic," she said.

The dialogue is held virtually (Photo: Vietnamplus)

As an initiative of the US, the inaugural ASEAN-US Ministerial Dialogue on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment was held via video conference to demonstrate our unwavering commitment to promote gender equality and the empowerment of all women and girls in Southeast Asia. It was co-chaired by Indonesia as Chair of the ASEAN Ministerial Meeting on Women (AMMW) and the United States, and attended by representatives from ASEAN member states and the US.

Addressing the function. I Gusti Ayu Bintang Darmawati, Indonesian Minister of Women's Empowerment and Child Protection and Chairwoman of the AMMW for 2021-2023 appreciated the commitments and support of the US Government to ASEAN in the promotion and empowerment of women and girls.

She said she is proud of the progress made by ASEAN in enhancing women's economic empowerment. This includes the promotion of the digital economy and financial inclusion to improve capacity of women and girls and protect them from all forms of violence.

At the end of the event, the participating ministers issued a joint statement of the ASEAN-US Ministerial Dialogue on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. The joint statement encouraged ASEAN member nations to take measures to enhance economic empowerment for women, promote gender mainstreaming, prevent gender-based violence, and support violence victims, especially women and girls.

The two sides vowed to carry out the commitments outlined in the December 2021 Concept Note on ASEAN-US Engagement on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment. These are to cooperate in operationalising the ASEAN Gender Mainstreaming Strategic Framework and, move forward with the implementation of the ASEAN Committee on Women (ACW) Work Plan (2021-2025), and relevant ASEAN frameworks and work plans.

They will enhance joint action to create enabling and safe environments for decent and dignified work. They will also promote women’s economic empowerment as outlined in the ASEAN Guideline on Gender Mainstreaming into Labour and Employment Policies Towards Decent Work for All. Also included is the broader ASEAN Action Agenda on Mainstreaming Women Economic Empowerment including through actions to increase incomes and opportunities for women by reducing and ultimately removing systemic barriers in comprehensive and meaningful ways. They will work to promote the role and participation of women in business and entrepreneurship. Also critical in the plan is to support women to access the digital economy and inclusive finance, boost and invest in the entire care economy and develop women’s human resources, especially in the fields of Science, Technology, Engineering and Math (STEM).

They will collaborate in moving forward the recommendations outlined in the ASEAN Regional Study on Women, Peace, and Security. This includes the need to mainstream WPS as a political and non-traditional conflict issue rather than a “women’s issue” and the need for continued investment in women’s leadership; and the implementation of the ASEAN Regional Plan of Action on Women, Peace and Security that will be adopted by the ASEAN Leaders during the 40th and 41st ASEAN Summits in 2022./.