Vietnam's progress on gender equality through 30 years of implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action

From November 19-21, the Vietnamese delegation attended the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference to review 30 years of implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in Bangkok, Thailand.

Tiến bộ về bình đẳng giới của Việt Nam qua 30 năm thực hiện Tuyên bố và Cương lĩnh hành động Bắc Kinh

The Vietnamese delegation attended the Asia-Pacific Ministerial Conference to review 30 years of implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in Bangkok, Thailand. (Source: UN Women)

The Conference was attended by 1,200 delegates from 51 countries and territories in the Asia-Pacific region, including Ministers/Heads of Delegations, leaders of government agencies, leaders of international organizations, representatives of non-governmental organizations, and experts in the field of gender equality.

The Vietnamese delegation was led by Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) Nguyen Thi Ha. The delegation included representatives from the Department of Gender Equality and the Department of International Cooperation (MOLISA), and the Vietnamese Permanent Mission to the United Nations Economic and Social Commission for Asia and the Pacific (UN ESCAP).

The conference aims to assess the progress of implementing the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in the Asia-Pacific region over the past five years, learn from lessons learned, good practices as well as difficulties, challenges, and priority actions needed to achieve gender equality and women's empowerment; and share information on gender equality and women's empowerment policies.

The event is also an opportunity to promote regional consensus on priority actions to accelerate the implementation of commitments in the Declaration and prepare the content for the 69th Session of the Commission on the Status of Women in March 2025.

The three-day Ministerial Conference will feature a range of events organized around priority themes of promoting women’s economic empowerment; enhancing women’s participation and leadership in the Asia-Pacific region; sustainable strategies to respond to and prevent violence against women and girls; and promoting gender equality through actions to improve gender relations.

Deputy Minister of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Nguyen Thi Ha speaks at the main session of the Conference. (Source: UN Women)

Speaking at the main session of the Conference, Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Ha emphasized that over the past 30 years, especially in the 2019-2024 period, Vietnam has been determined to realize the goals of the Beijing Platform for Action and other international commitments on gender equality, notably the building and strengthening of national laws and policies.

Vietnam seriously integrates gender equality issues in the development of legal documents and policies to eliminate regulations that discriminate against women and men.

The National Strategy on Gender Equality for the 2021-2030 period has been issued with many goals, targets and solutions to narrow the gender gap, create conditions and opportunities for women and men to participate and enjoy equality in all areas of social life, contributing to the sustainable development of the country. In addition, communication programs to promote gender equality in various fields have been issued by the Government and implemented nationwide.

The active participation of the government and political and social organizations from central to local levels in the implementation of laws and policies has brought about many important results. These efforts and determination have significantly improved the role and status of Vietnamese women.

Vietnam's Gender Equality Index in 2024 ranked 72/146 countries. The proportion of female National Assembly deputies is always high in the Asia-Pacific region (reaching 30.26%); Vietnamese women account for 46.8% of the country's workforce; The female labor force participation rate is 62.4%; The proportion of women-owned enterprises is 28.2%. More and more outstanding female entrepreneurs and female CEOs in Vietnam are recognized and honored by world economic forums.

In addition, the gender gap in all levels of education has been narrowed; the health care system for ethnic minority women and women migrating from rural to urban areas has been strengthened; and the service system to support victims of gender-based violence has been expanded and improved in quality.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Ha said that to achieve progress in gender equality, it is important to have a common consensus on the concept that economic development must go hand in hand with progress, social justice, poverty reduction and attention to vulnerable groups, especially women and children; further strengthening the state management system on gender equality and mainstreaming gender equality issues in programs and initiatives at all levels and in all fields.

Deputy Minister Nguyen Thi Ha's speech conveyed the message to the Asia-Pacific region that Vietnam is determined to implement the solutions outlined in the National Report on 30 years of reviewing the implementation of the Platform and towards the successful implementation of the 2030 Agenda for Sustainable Development, so that no one is left behind in the development process. Vietnam will continue to strengthen the partnership between the Government and relevant parties, including United Nations agencies, to maximize support for results on gender equality and women's advancement.

Also within the framework of the Conference from November 19-21, the Vietnamese delegation has continued to participate and actively contribute to the contents, documents and general reports of the Conference.