Illustrative image (Source: VNA) Hanoi (VNA) – Domesticenterprises, especially those led by women, have contributed greatly to thecompletion of the twin targets set by the Government amidst the adverse impactof the COVID-19 pandemic, head of the Management andSustainable Development Institute (MSD) Pham Khanh Linh has said.
Addressing a workshop in Hanoi on November 6on business transforming and the empowerment of women in engaging in businessactivities for economic recovery and development, Linh noted that there areabout 200,000 women-led companies among the about 800,000 businesses in Vietnam, or25 percent.
Besides, about 30 percent of the total small-and medium-sized enterprises (SME) in the country also have their leaders beingwomen, Linh added.
Regarding the rights of children in businessprinciple, Ines Kaempfer, Executive Director of the Center for Child Rights and Corporate SocialResponsibility (CCR CSR) in Asia, said that pregnant and nursing women have highdemand for nutrition and resting, therefore businesses should give them optimalconditions in the period.
Meanwhile, Ted Lopez, Executive Director ofAlter Trade Foundation, said that the empowerment of women in businessactivities and ensuring the rights of women in working places are vital in thesuccessful implementation of the Agenda 2030 on Sustainable Development Goalsand the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination AgainstWomen that Vietnam has committed to implement.
In order to speed up the national target on gender equality in labour andemployment, it is necessary to review policies and programmes related to theeconomic power and ownership rights of women as well as equality in work placein both official and unofficial sectors, he said.
He also stressed the need to define the role of the government as well as international organisations and the private sector inshaping and impacting the employment market and the women empowerment process.
At the conference, participants discussed and sought solutions to enhance therole and power of women in economic sector, promoting women’s access and equalopportunities to enjoy benefits in employment, enhancing their capacity andpromotion chances as well as involvement in the supply chain, thus contributingto prosperity and sustainable growth of enterprises and countries./.
