Vietnam leads SEA in women’s empowerment

(VOV) - Twenty Vietnamese businesses on October 26 signed a letter of recommendation supporting the principles of women’s empowerment.

The signing means that Vietnam leads the Southeast Asian region in promoting women’s rights.

The principles include improving gender equality and supporting local women in vocational training, employment, and wages.

Doan Duy Khuong, Deputy Chairman of the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI), said that the national strategy on gender equality over the 2011-2020 period was recently approved by the Prime Minister. It aims to increase the ratio of female leaders in businesses to 30 percent by 2015 and 35 percent by 2020. He urged business leaders to make the principles a priority.

Pratibha Mehta, the United Nations Resident Coordinator in Vietnam, emphasized that businesses play a key role in generating jobs, improving female workers’ incomes, and protecting their rights. They can also offer valuable opportunities for the further development of professional skills.

Vietnam’s proposed principles are in line with initiatives by the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) and the United Nations Global Compacts. Both UN organs operate with a view to encouraging women’s participation in every economic activity at all levels and in all regions.

So far more than 400 businesses have committed to implementing these principles, including 20 in Vietnam and five each in Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, and Thailand.
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