Premier of Ontario (Canada) talks about women's leadership role at USSH

Opening the meeting, bahKathleen Wynne shared the joy and surprises she discovered about Vietnam during her first visit here. It was the feeling of strong vitality, warmth, and hospitality of the people here, especially the young people. When walking around Hoan Kiem Lake, she saw people playing music, exercising, singing, and waving to foreign visitors. It is this friendliness that will make the difference when countries and economies seek to cooperate with each other. Vietnam is a very dynamic economy and the young people are always rich in knowledge, skills, and aspirations - the great drivers of economic growth. What she witnessed made her optimistic about the potential for developing the relationship between the two countries.

Prof. Dr. Pham Quang Minh introduces Ms. Kathleen Wynne

The main topic of the talk between the Prime Minister and the students of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities - as she mentioned - was "the leadership role of women and our steps towards gender equality to make society better". This is not equality just in theory, ideas or dreams, but fundamental and practical changes when women's experiences are respected, their voices are heard.

Ms. Kathleen Wynne presents

“This is a global issue because there is no place in the world where women do not face huge barriers and challenges related to gender,” she emphasized. She faced doubts and distrust from many people when she became the top leader of Ontario and many people always wanted to see her as a woman with a motherhood rather than a leader. But “no job has supported my political work better than being a mother. Because raising children is very difficult, it teaches you the most basic skills like listening, multitasking, planning and patience… - things that are very necessary in political work,” she shared.

Witnessing the stories of inequality of many women around her, she realized: women have not really achieved equality and negative attitudes towards women still exist in many fields, from politics, business, technology to family and society in general.

“I entered politics not to be a role model but to serve the community,” said Kathleen Wynne. And one of the things she worries about is: How can we help girls become the role models they want to be? How can we establish a system that can create equal opportunities for them? How can we give girls the dreams and confidence to become scientists, CEOs… if they do not see women playing an increasingly important and successful role in society?

Ms. Kathleen Wynne believes that to do that, society must demonstrate the value of gender equality in the workplace and build the foundation for gender equality in our society, that is, using the State's authority to create policies to create equality.

Ontario has taken positive steps in promoting gender equality in recent times, such as: establishing a cabinet with 40% of its members being women, the highest rate in Ontario's history; establishing the Ontario Department of Women's Status... Women's participation in the province's decisions has also brought about different and positive results, such as: issuing a policy to increase the salaries of early childhood educators - those who care for the younger generation; increasing the minimum wage for women in Ontario by more than 30%; improving the childcare system to create 45,000 new childcare spaces, helping parents, often women, return to work, by improving their childcare services; encouraging female students to study majors and subjects that were previously reserved for men, such as natural sciences and engineering; launching campaigns to raise awareness about sexual violence in the workplace where the victims are women; exempting university tuition fees for 200,000 students...

“Use our power to level the playing field, so that we don't just seek change, but actually create it” - bahKathleen Wynne talks about her determination to close gender inequality in Ontario.

One of my idolsahKathleen Wynne is Judy LaMarsh - the female Minister of Health and Welfare of Canada from 1963-1965. She was a great contributor to the construction of the universal health care system in Canada, later the national pension fund. These policies help make the lives of Canadians more fair and equal. Referring to Vietnam, the Premier said: "In Vietnam, I learned the story of Hai Ba Trung, two talented military leaders who made all Vietnamese people proud". Therefore, her advice for Vietnamese women: do not limit yourself; never be afraid of failure; constantly share and dialogue; actively participate in issues that you truly care about and want to change.

One of the fundamental solutions to narrow gender inequality and build a better society, according to Ms. Kathleen Wynne, is to invest in education and schools, especially the education of children and adolescents. Vietnam is a nation with a tradition of loving to learn. Ontario is proud to have more than 1,200 Vietnamese students studying and living here. These are great advantages for the two countries to cooperate and find solutions to existing problems of the two countries and problems at the international level. Because only by cooperating, not limiting ourselves to old prejudices and thinking, but always being exposed to and renewing ourselves with perspectives and stories from outside... can our society always progress.

Ms. Kathleen Wynne's speech attracted the attention and inspired many young people attending the meeting. Students from the University of Social Sciences and Humanities also impressed the Premier of Ontario with their direct and fluent Q&A in English on many issues of interest to young Vietnamese people such as: study abroad opportunities for Vietnamese female students in Canada, the roles of women and men in a typical family in Canada, how to provide opportunities for girls in education, and how cooperation on women's rights between the two countries can be implemented through activities...

Students of the School ask questions to Ms. Kathleen Wynne