(VOVWORLD) -Participants at the Vietnam Corporate Forum, themed “Sustainable Development in Relation to Gender Equality Strategies”, said they believe a gender equality policy in workplace creates a positive corporate culture. The event held in Hanoi late last week was aimed at helping businesses understand the importance of ensuring gender equality in workplace.
 Vietnam is among the top 10 countries in implementing gender equality, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. (illustrative photo)
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Women account for 73% of all workers in Vietnam. One third of them are owners, according to the Investing Women project.
Vietnam is among the top 10 countries in implementing gender equality, one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals of the UN. It also ranked 69th of 144 countries in four key areas - health, education, economics, and politics – in the World Economic Forum’s Global Gender Gap Report, released last November.
Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Le Quan called on business leaders to empower women and ensure gender quality. “Special attention should be given to human resources, particularly women personnel, who will help businesses grow sustainably. Gender equality must be considered a value in corporate culture so that everyone can enjoy opportunities to use their abilities and receive income and appreciation proportional to their contribution.”
Besides achievements, women still face hurdles in certain occupations and certain regions. Specifically, rural and ethnic women and female migrants often have less access to basic social services, and there is still an income gap between women and men.
Mac Quoc Anh, Vice Chairman and Secretary General of Hanoi’s Small and Medium-Sized Enterprises Association, said: “The current policies are appropriate for female workers, especially female business owners, but are not proportional to their contribution. They are at a big disadvantage in health, education, training, and compensation compared to their male colleagues. State agencies should adopt more policies to create greater equality between women and men."
Vietnam is developing a prosperous and inclusive economy. The business sector is at the center of development goals and solutions to boost equality in general, and especially gender equality in the workplace, so the development of human resources, especially woman resources is a key to Vietnam’s success.