Prime Minister Chinh Participates in ASEAN Women Leaders’ Summit Webinar
Hanoi, The Gulf Observer: Prime Minister Phạm Minh Chinh has announced that Vietnam has achieved more than half of its national gender equality goals for 2023. Speaking virtually at the third ASEAN Women’s Leaders Summit on Friday morning, the Prime Minister emphasized the nation’s ongoing commitment to promoting gender equality.
The summit, held under the theme “Promoting the Care Economy and Resilience towards the ASEAN Community Post-2025,” brought together high-level leaders, ministers responsible for women’s development and gender equality, as well as prominent female entrepreneurs from ASEAN, Timor-Leste, partner countries, and representatives from the United Nations.
Prime Minister Chính’s participation in the summit followed an invitation from Lao Prime Minister Sonexay Siphandone. The summit also marked the third iteration of the ASEAN Women’s Leaders’ Summit, an initiative that Vietnam pioneered during its ASEAN Chairmanship in 2020. The event reaffirmed ASEAN’s dedication to advancing gender equality and recognizing the critical roles and contributions of women and girls in both family and society.
Discussions at the summit focused on the challenges faced by women who take on unpaid caregiving roles, exploring the far-reaching consequences such as gender inequality, restricted access to education and employment, and gender-based violence. The summit provided practical guidelines to raise awareness about the importance of women’s contributions to the care economy, proposed increased investment in this sector, and advocated for better protection of workers’ rights, particularly for women.
In his address, Prime Minister Chính highlighted the significant strides Vietnam has made towards its gender equality targets for 2023. He reported that 11 out of the 20 objectives outlined in the National Strategy on Gender Equality 2025 have been met or surpassed. Additionally, three targets were partially achieved compared to the long-term goals set for 2030, and 12 targets showed improvement over the previous year.
One of the notable metrics discussed was the reduction in the gender gap in unpaid caregiving and household work. In 2023, women spent an average of 1.78 times more hours on such tasks than men, with a goal of reducing this ratio to 1.7 times by 2025. Furthermore, Vietnam improved its ranking in the 2023 Gender Equality Index, climbing to 72nd out of 146 countries—an improvement of eleven places from the previous year.
Prime Minister Chính invoked the words of President Hồ Chí Minh: “If women are not liberated, then society is not liberated,” underscoring the necessity of harnessing women’s potential and labor to strengthen the care economy and build resilience towards the ASEAN Community post-2025. He proposed that ASEAN countries focus on three key areas:
- Enhancing awareness and understanding of the critical role women play across all sectors.
- Promoting policies that support the equal participation of women, and improving infrastructure to provide quality, accessible, and affordable public healthcare and caregiving services, particularly in impoverished, remote, and rural areas.
- Continuing to innovate and improve institutions and policies, integrating caregiving work into regional programs and socio-economic development plans with a focus on gender equality.
Additionally, the Prime Minister called for stronger cooperation to protect workers’ rights, prevent abuse, exploitation, and discrimination, and combat illegal activities, including human trafficking.
Deputy Minister of Labour, Invalids, and Social Affairs Nguyễn Thị Hà, who attended the summit in person in Vientiane, shared insights on the importance of unpaid caregiving work and the barriers that hinder recognition of its significant contributions to human development and economic growth. She addressed the current state of the care economy in Vietnam, highlighting the social prejudices against women’s roles, limitations in caregiving service provision, especially in rural and remote areas, and inadequacies in social security coverage for caregiving workers, which contribute to gender inequality and income disparities.
Prime Minister of Laos Sonexay Siphandone expressed his appreciation for Prime Minister Chính’s participation and contributions, as well as those of the Vietnamese female leaders at the summit. He extended a warm invitation to Prime Minister Chính to visit Laos and attend the 44th and 45th ASEAN Summits and related meetings in October 2024 in Vientiane.
