The presence of women in leadership roles at state agencies as well as in organisations in Vietnam remains modest. What should be done to strengthen and promote the full potential contribution of women in both public and private sector is the main theme of the Women and Leadership and "Invisible Ceiling" workshop held in Hanoi. The workshops were jointly held by the World Bank in Vietnam and Tri Viet International Linkage and Exchange Institute of Ton Duc Thang University, with the technical assistance of Deloitte Vietnam. On the sidelines of the workshop, Vietnam Business Forum had an interview with Ms Nguyen Thuy Hien, Deputy Minister of Justice, to better understand thoughts and voices of women. Anh Phuong reports.
Can you please provide some details about the "empowerment" of women in Vietnam,?
In fact, in Vietnam, the promotion of the role of women took place in the mid-20th century via the signing of the Convention on Women, the building of law on gender equality and also the dissemination of National Programme and Planning on gender equality.
According to the report of the World Inter-Parliamentary Union, at the end of 2011, in terms of the proportion of women in leadership, Vietnam ranked 43 in the world, down from 36th position in 2010 and 2009. Of the seven countries including China, Cuba, North Korea, Laos, Saudi Arabia, Turkmenistan and Vietnam, Vietnam ranks third in the proportion of women taking critical position in politics (24.4 percent). This proportion of Laos and Cuba reach 25 percent and 45 percent, respectively. This proportion of China is quite high, 43 percent.
According to statistics of the Ministry of Domestic Affairs, in the current term of the National Assembly, the percentage of women deputies is at the lowest level since 1997 of only 24 percent, which does not meet the target of 30 percent as set out from before the 2011 election. In the government, the key positions are still largely dominated by men. Specifically, of the four Deputy Prime Ministers and 22 ministers, only two are women. At provinces, districts and communes, the highest positions of state agencies still witness the absence of woman. In Vietnamese enterprises, the percentage of women holding senior leadership positions is less than 25 percent and there is only one female leader on the management boards of the 12 largest state-owned corporations.
In your opinion, what are the constraints for women to take leadership?
I think to answer this question we should ask an opposite question: "Why do we need to set 'targets' for women in leadership?" In fact, what should be paid attention to is the quality of their work. In practical work, sometimes following administrative structure without paying due attention to real qualifications can create pressure on women and they hardly keep their reputation. Therefore, we should consider and create favourable conditions for women. Also we should consider higher promotion when they are fully qualified.
Another aspect of the problem is the ideology of a male-dominated society has led to large gender gap in most areas of life. Therefore, women usually have to face more difficulties due to circumstances, their and traditional vocation and traditions. If a woman wants to be devoted to career, she must double her efforts to be able to handle both her family and her work. Sometimes, vocation can become a limitation for them. In many cases, women cannot cope with pressure so they chose to retire to take care of their children, husband and the whole family.
In some cases, when a woman is appointed to a new office, there’s a tendency that men care for her appearance yet pay little attention to her real working capacity. This is an external pressure which creates invisible pressure on women. At work, if a man is determined, it is commendable, whereas a woman will be said were to be arrogant in the same situation.
What can be done to overcome this situation?
To break down the “invisible ceiling” and create conditions for women leaders is a question not just for me but for everyone who attended today's workshop. In my opinion, there still remains the biggest barrier ingrained in the minds of people who underestimate the role of women, especially in Asian countries and Vietnam. If we want to change, we have to demolish this outdated prejudice. Specifically, there are practical measures which are easy to implement such as offering classes providing knowledge of gender equality for policy makers to make policies closer to reality and reducing barriers from objective factors in the rise of women to key positions of enterprises and organizations. In addition, women themselves must be aware of their own value. They should keep balance of the two roles of a traditional woman in the family and a role of social work associated with the need to learn. This is a difficult problem.
Finally, we should have a new way of seeing things: "Investing in women is investing for development. This message is not new to many countries around the world. However in Vietnam, this is very important, to promote the advantages and ability of women.” It is necessary to change policies, yet the distance between policy to practice is too great. This gap stems from incomplete legal system. There are still many gaps in specific policies on preferences, promotion opportunities, working conditions, retirement age, and insurance. etc. Therefore, first of all, it is important to create a legal framework as a basis for women to fully express their own ability, and thus create a new resource for the socio-economic development of the country.
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