The United Nations (UN) in Vietnam, the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) and the National Committee for the Advancement of Women in Vietnam (NCFAW) organized a Policy Dialogue on Gender Equality to commemorate International Women’s Day.
The dialogue was held in Hanoi on March 9 and discussed the accomplishments as well as the remaining challenges on gender equality and women’s empowerment in Vietnam.
The Prime Minister has approved the National Strategy on Gender Equality and women’s advancement for the period 2011 to 2020. MOLISA will now submit the National Program on Gender Equality from 2011 to 2015 to the Government for approval, in order to address gender equality in different sectors and areas.
They will also streamline the legislature, laws and enforcement methods of the program. Both MOLISA and the UN have pledged to work together to support the effective implementation of the new National Strategy for Gender Equality (2011-2020) and the National Program on Gender Equality (2011-2015).
The UN supports the goals of the government for gender equality and as such the implementation of the National Strategy for gender equality 2011-2015.
Speaking at the conference, Ms. Nguyen Thanh Hoa, MOLISA’s standing vice Minister, emphasized the commitment of the Government of Vietnam to strengthen the legislation on gender equality and implementation of the program and other projects to promote gender equality and the advancement of women.
At the Policy Dialogue, the plan for the implementation of the National Strategy on Gender Equality and the role of Vietnam Women’s Union in policy advocacy were presented. “As we come closer to the upcoming elections, the role of women in leadership and high level representation in elected bodies is also a critical issue and I am delighted that the Vietnam Women’s Union will brief us on the important work they have been doing in the lead up to the elections in 2011,” said Mr. John Hendra, UN Resident Coordinator.
The UN women in Vietnam organized the first national consultation last week, where over 120 government, civil society and international representatives came together to chart out what UN Women’s future priorities should be, both here in Vietnam and around the world.
The global theme for this year’s International Women’s Day is “Equal Access to Education, Training, Science and Technology: Pathway to Decent Work for Women”.
Participating in the event were Nguyen Thanh Hoa, Vice-Minister of MOLISA; Nguyen Thi Thanh Hoa, President Vietnam Women’s Union; Mr. Pham Ngoc Tien, Director of Gender equality Department (MOLISA); ambassadors of Spain, Canada, Ireland, Greece, Sweden, Hungary, Laos, Malaysia and Poland, distinguished participants from Government, research institutes and civil society.
