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UN warns of widening woman-men gap in Vietnam

Xinhua, June 3, 2016 Adjust font size:

The United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) on Friday launched a new study which warns gender inequality increase in Vietnam.

Launched in Vietnam's capital Hanoi after two years of collecting data and analysis, the study "Towards Gender Equality in Vietnam: Making Inclusive Growth Work for Women" was prepared by the UN Women, the Institute for Family and Gender Studies, and Vietnam Academy of Social Sciences, said a press release by UN Women Vietnam on Friday.

According to the press release, Vietnam's efforts to improve economic growth and reduce poverty in the past two decades have improved the livelihoods of millions of its citizens. However, there is a need to create an inclusive and sustainable growth model to realize the full economic and social rights and overall potential of women.

"Vietnam's current economic growth pattern is not giving adequate attention to ensure that women's right to equally benefit from growth being fulfilled. If current policies and priorities are not reviewed and reformed from a gender lens, further economic integration will leave women behind," said Shoko Ishikawa, UN Women Country Representative at the launch.

The study notes that in export-oriented manufacturing sectors, women are less likely than men to receive training and be promoted. The gender-earning gap has also widened.

The study also found that agriculture is still the main source of livelihoods for a large portion of the population, particularly women in the Vietnam's Northern Midlands and Central Highlands regions, but a large share of them work without pay on their family farms. This leaves them vulnerable, with limited opportunities to earn more secure incomes and become more productive, said the press release.

In addition, women in Vietnam spend disproportionately more time on unpaid domestic work than men. The burden of unpaid work limits women's access to economic opportunities and capacity to engage in paid work as well as impacts on power dynamics within households, according to the UN agency.

A key feature of the study is its recommendations on policy actions that could be promoted to better realize women's potential and make their economic livelihoods more secure, whether they be small-scale farmers, domestic paid workers or garment factory workers, said the press release. Enditem