Supporting Businesswomen to Promote Genius and Ability

Vietnam was one of the first countries to sign the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW). The Law on Gender Equality, which took effect on July 1, 2007, has promoted women’s roles in the society, especially in business. Previously, women’s roles were primarily limited to taking care of family and offspring and doing housework but they have now proven their abilities on the market. The increasing number of enterprises established, managed and governed by women was enough to evidence their equal abilities and opportunities to men’s. Their very positive and effective contributions to the doi moi (renovation) cause are changing prejudice against women’s roles in the society. And, the society has already admitted that women can do as well as men in the latter’s inviolable territory.

 

At a Vietnamese entrepreneur forum opened on March 6, 2011 in Hanoi, the Party and the State leaders noted: "Vietnamese enterprises and entrepreneurs are a major driving force of the doi moi cause and the vanguard force in international integration. Women-led businesses and women entrepreneurs play very important roles. “Women entrepreneurs are typical examples for bravery, endurance, creativity, dynamism and ambition. They have actively helped maintain stable social and economic and recovery, economic development, and social security issues.”

 

Ms Ton Nu Thi Ninh, Director of the Tri Viet Institute forInternational Studies andExchange, said there are three important factors that bar women from achieving more remarkable successes. The first barrier is their subjective thinking. They have leadership quality but they lack determination and willpower. The second objective factor is deep-rooted social prejudice. In addition, Party and State guidelines and policies are also a key factor. The existence of social prejudice will result to policies in support of such prejudice. When legislators are still prejudiced against gender equality, they will be likely to adopt gender discrimination policies.

 

Ms Tran Thi Thuy, Former VCCI Vice President and Former Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council, said that the biggest barrier that women entrepreneurs face is traditional gender prejudice in everyday life, in law enforcement and in their thinking. To support women entrepreneurs to promote the highest ability and talent, contribute more to the cause of the country’s industrialisation, modernisation and international integration, the Party, State and relevant agencies should focus on mainstreaming gender equality in all legal documents, especially the Law on Enterprises, the Law on Investment and Labour Code in a comprehensive manner and have positive protection measures to carry out gender equality in reality, she noted.

 

Specially, Vietnam should have women-led enterprise and women entrepreneur support programme like the formation of the fund for women-led business start-up when it works out action plan for the implementation of the Politburo’s Resolution No. 09-NQ/TW on building and promoting the role of Vietnamese entrepreneurs in the period of accelerating industrialisation, modernisation and international integration. Besides, it should strengthen the leadership and direction of the Vietnam Women Union and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council, especially in gender equality integration in law-making and law enforcement, promote gender equality in business, protect legitimate and lawful interest of women entrepreneurs and women workers.