The project is the result of cooperation between the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, Justus Liebig GieBen University (Germany), with support from the Hanns Seidel Foundation.
Attending the seminar were Assoc. Prof. Dr. Dao Thanh Truong - Vice Rector; representatives of leaders, lecturers, students, postgraduates of the Faculty of International Studies and many faculties in the university; Dr. Detlef Briesen - Justus Liebig GieBen University, co-editor of the Report; Mr. Michael Siegner - Chief Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation in Vietnam.
The seminar attracted the participation of many scientists, managers from ministries, departments, branches, and research agencies: Mr. Nghiem Xuan Nam - Deputy Director of the Department of Gender Equality, Ministry of Labor - Invalids and Social Affairs; Ms. Thao Griffiths - Director of Public Policy in Vietnam Market, Asia - Pacific Office, Meta Company; Ms. Nguyen Thi Tuyet - Former Vice President of Vietnam Women's Union; Dr. Lailufar Yasmin - Head of the Department of International Relations, Dhaka University, Bangladesh and Dr. Duong Kim Anh - Deputy Director, Vietnam Women's Academy,...
In his opening speech, Associate Professor, Dr. Dao Thanh Truong affirmed the good qualities of Vietnamese women throughout the history of the nation, devoted to the cause of preserving and developing the country. However, in the context of modern and integrated society today, promoting the role and contributions of women in many fields still faces certain difficulties. Therefore, general and comprehensive studies on women and gender equality play a very important role. The research results presented in the annual national report "Women in Vietnamese Society" provide an objective view and propose recommendations in the work of building and strengthening gender equality.
Sharing the same view, Mr. Michael Siegner - Chief Representative of Hanns Seidel Foundation in Vietnam also affirmed the importance of the topic of the discussion, saying that this is one of the urgent issues that need to be concerned and evaluated in Vietnam. He also expressed his expectation for the achievements that have been reaped throughout the process of completing the report, that with the joint efforts of everyone, after today's exchanges, there will be more ideas and awareness of gender equality that will be spread to more people.
According to Dr. Detlef Briesen - co-editor of the Report, the main objective of the report is to provide the public with information and the situation of women in Vietnam on issues such as the realities, conditions, lives of women in Vietnamese society, difficulties, and efforts to improve gender equality. Through that, it answers the question: Why is the position of women in Vietnamese society higher than that of women in Southeast Asian countries? Dr. Detlef Briesen believes that although Vietnamese women in the new era have gained rights and a solid position in society, there are still some ethnic minorities who have not had access to support for gender equality, and there are still shortcomings in the leadership positions of women. With these challenges, the authors Detlef Briesen, Nguyen Thi Thuy Trang and Pham Quang Minh have made recommendations to focus solutions on issues such as: violence against women, better monitoring of gender equality, improving women's access to technology and closer monitoring of human resource policies on women's promotion.
Representing the perspective of the state agency on gender equality, Mr. Nghiem Xuan Nam shared positively on the issue when affirming the perfection of laws and draft laws to ensure women's rights. Most notably, the law against domestic violence has been expanded to 16 types of acts to ensure the safety of women and children in marriage. In addition, laws such as social insurance, employment law are being converted and the law on gender transition is being studied, and in 2023, the National Assembly will discuss the results of gender equality implementation at its annual session, promising to bring many benefits to girls and women in the future. However, he also shared the difficulties encountered due to the new nature of the field, and therefore there is still a long-term strategy and commitment to bring the earliest and most positive impacts to Vietnamese society today.
As the Director of Public Policy at Meta Company, and also a person who has experienced many positions, Ms. Thao Griffiths emphasized that gender sensitivity in daily life is extremely important. She affirmed the influence of women in today's working life, and policies to support women's development are desirable and necessary. Women who are leaders, experts, should be given opportunities to stand next to men at class reunions, in public. According to her, these will be good influences, good changes in public awareness in recognizing the ability and value of women in modern society, as well as becoming sources of inspiration for younger generations about gender equality.
“What have we achieved in gender equality? And what can we hope to achieve in the future?” - this is the question raised by Dr. Detlef Briesen at the discussion. He emphasized that gender inequality is a global issue, that although gender equality is increasingly promoted, absolute gender equality will also create specific challenges in the future. Therefore, it is expected that in July 2023, a report on the labor market in Vietnam will be published, promising a deeper look into the formal and informal markets, analyzing the role of different groups of people, especially women. He also expressed hope that these reports will bring positive changes to women who are still suffering from injustice in many parts of the world.
