Nguyen Thi Quynh Trang
Hanoi Law University
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| Minister of Health Dao Hong Lan addresses at the National Assembly Standing Committee’s discussion of the Law Revising the Law on Pharmacy__Photo: Doan Tan/VNA |
This article analyzes outcomes in gender equality practice in Vietnam, particularly in political affairs, points out limitations in this regard, and proposes solutions to promote women’s political participation.
Gender equality practice in Vietnam
Pluses
In recent years, Vietnam has always endeavored to implement various measures to promote gender equality across different domains. In particular, women’s rights in political affairs have played a crucial role in ensuring and promoting human rights and gender equality, contributing to the country’s sustainable development goals. Great achievements have been made, with the proportion of women participating in state and social management activities steadily increasing.
First, Vietnam has made remarkable progress in developing and refining the legal system to enhance women’s participation in political affairs. For instance, Article 11.1 of the 2006 Law on Gender Equality states: “Men and women are equal in participating in state management and social activities; men and women are equal in formulating and implementing village codes, community conventions or regulations, and statutes of agencies, organizations; men and women are equal in self-nominating or being nominated as candidates for deputies to the National Assembly and People’s Councils, as members of the leaderships of political organizations, socio-political organizations, socio-political-professional organizations, social organizations, and socio-professional organizations; men and women are equal in professional qualifications and age groups upon promotion or appointment to the same managerial or leadership positions in agencies and organizations”.[1]
The Law on Election of Deputies to the National Assembly and People’s Councils ensured equal representation of women in the election process. It also encouraged the electorates to increase the proportion of women in candidate lists, promoted gender inclusivity election campaigns, and prohibited gender-based discriminations in the election process.
The national strategy for gender equality in the 2011-20 period, issued under the Prime Minister’s Decision 2351/QD-TTg of December 24, 2010, aimed to enhance women’s participation in leadership and decision-making positions in political institutions. This strategy established specific objectives and measures to promote women’s representation in political institutions at all levels. Many of these objectives have been realized, including increased participation of women in managerial and leadership positions, the gradual narrowing of the gender gap in the political, economic, labor and employment domains; and expanded access for poor rural women and ethnic minority women to economic resources and the labor market. Additional accomplishments include raising the quality of female human resources, ensuring equal participation of men and women in education and training, improving gender equality in access to, and benefits from, healthcare services and family life, and gradually eliminating gender-based violence.
The 2011-15 national program on gender equality, issued under the Prime Minister’s Decision 1241/QD-TTg of July 22, 2011, states: “To support women in helping them enhance their capacity to participate in managerial and leadership positions in state management bodies and non-business units at central and local levels; to step by step create sources of female cadres for managerial and leadership positions in Party agencies, people-elected bodies, administrative agencies, non-business units and socio-political organizations at different levels towards achieving the quotas of the 2011-20 national strategy on gender equality”.[2]
Second, the participation rate of Vietnamese women in the political system ranked among the highest globally. By December 2022, 15 out of 30 ministries, ministerial-level agencies and government-attached agencies were managed and led by women, reflecting a 3.4 percent increase from 2021. This included 13 out of 22 ministries and ministerial-level agencies with key female leaders, up by 6 percent over 2021, and 2 out of 8 government-attached agencies with key female leaders, accounting for 25 percent. According to statistics from the Ministry of Home Affairs, by early March 2023, 19 women had participated in the Central Committee of the 13th National Party Congress, representing 9.5 percent.[3]
Third, gender equality in the political domain has seen significant progress. An increasing number of women hold important positions in the Party or state agencies as well as local administrations at provincial, district and commune levels. As of July 1, 2022, key female leaders included seven provincial Party Committee secretaries and 15 deputy secretaries. At the district level, the proportion of female leaders across 63 provinces and centrally run cities stood at 20.1 percent, with Ho Chi Minh City topping the list with 33.2 percent.[4]
Minuses
Despite these achievements, legal provisions regarding women’s rights in politics remain incoherent and fragmented. The Law on Gender Equality lacked certain contents and concepts such as indirect discrimination, forms of interwoven discriminations in various aspects of life. Additionally, the Law on Promulgation of Legal Documents, the Law on Organization of the National Assembly, the Law on Organization of the Government, the Law on Organization of Local Administration still fail to specify gender equality in key national and local policies.
Several solutions outline in the 2011-20 National Strategy on Gender Equality were not fully implemented or prioritized. Furthermore, there is a lack of strict measures to hold agencies and organizations accountable for failing to implement assigned gender equality solutions.
The awareness about gender equality among some cadres, civil servants, public employees remains limited, while state management over gender equality lacks close coordination among ministries, sectors and localities.
Solutions to promote women’s political participation
Strong community commitment is essential to advancing gender equality. The positive attitude and strong sense of responsibility among leading officials and cadres of all sectors and at all levels are fundamental prerequisites for enhancing the quality and effectiveness of gender equality activities. This include incorporating gender equality into policy development, ensuring effective supervision, and implementing these measures in practice. Strengthened international cooperation on gender equality, as well as increased technical and financial assistance and information sharing, are necessary to achieve gender equality objectives efficiently.
Gender equality should be considered a prerequisite for building high-quality human resources, thereby raising the quality of life for individuals, families and society as a whole. It is crucial to actively encourage and support women’s participation in politics through building and refining the legal system and creating equal opportunities for women in political affairs.
It is necessary to improve policies and laws on gender equality to enable women’s comprehensive development. The Law on Gender Equality and relevant legal documents should be amended and supplemented to ensure alignment with the Constitution, relevant laws, and treaties.
Additionally, inspections, supervisions and handling of violations in the implementation of policies and laws concerning women, gender equality, family and children must be intensified.
Vietnam should reaffirm its commitment to promoting women’s participation and representation in politics by ratifying major international conventions, including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discriminations Against Women, the 1966 International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, the 1982 Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, 1951 ILO Convention No. 100 on Equal Remuneration, and the 1995 Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action in Vietnam.-
[1] The 2006 Law on Gender Equality, https://vbpl.vn/TW/Pages/vbpq-toanvan.aspx?ItemID=14838&Keyword=
[2] Prime Minister’s Decision 1241/QD-TTg approving the national program on gender equality in the 2011-15 period.
[3] Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs’ website, April 5, 2023: Vietnam ranks among the highest globally in the proportion of women participating in politics.
[4] Directive 35-CT/TW of the Political Bureau.
