Vietnam Pledges Support for Women's Economic Empowerment

• Vietnam has a robust gender support for women's empowerment and economic participation
• It attempts to connect women in science, technology, and enterprise to become leaders in rising fields

Vietnam reaffirmed its commitment to women's advancement and international cooperation to enlarge the economic role of women, including facilitating women's work in science, technology, and business so that they can be future industry champions.

This was said by Nguyen Thi Tuyen, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women's Union, during the Global Leaders' Meeting on Women held in Beijing, China, on October 13-14, 2023, to mark the 30th anniversary of the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action for Gender Equality (1995).

Nguyen highlighted the achievements of Vietnam in advancing gender equality and enabling Vietnamese women in her presentation.

Vietnam engaged proactively in pledging to the Beijing Declaration and pertinent global human rights covenants, with outcomes demonstrating positive reactions, 44 percent of researchers being female, and hardly less than 40 percent being working in STEM careers, 30 percent being members of the National Assembly, and over 28 percent being entrepreneurs, according to Tuyen.

Nguyen remains fully committed to policies that promote the complete inclusion of women in economic, political and social life, providing evidence for that commitment through building on a national strategy on women in science and technology and in business development; prioritizing accessibility for women in education-oriented fields; and, by demonstrating in health fields that addressing women’s health remains an important public health issue.

Nguyen also highlighted the continued participation by Vietnam in international endeavors around gender equality issues.

For instance, female Vietnamese officers engaged in UN peacekeeping missions accounted for 14.4% of the total from Vietnam - even in comparison to the global average.

Furthermore, Vietnam has also engaged in, and even provided funding to, various initiatives from the UN and ASEAN support for women receiving their due rights.

She remarked very clearly that ongoing peace and stability in their communities is the basis for women to advance.

She called on the international community to hold discussions and encourage cooperation on such topics, as they apply directly to women.

Nguyen reaffirmed Vietnam's belief that with the collective will and intention of the international community and countries, we can continue to make progress towards the goals of the Beijing Declaration by building a world in which women and girls are respected and protected, and reaches their potential in achieving sustainable development.