-     Mr Nguyễn Tiến Thành- Deputy Secretary of the Provincial Standing Committee, Chairman of Thai Binh’s People’s Council

-       Ms Nguyễn Thị Minh Hương, Vice president of Vietnam Women’s Union

-       Leaders of Thai Binh People’s committee, women leaders from all government agencies and enterprises in Thai Binh province

Good morning, Xin Chao!

On behalf of UNDP, it is my great pleasure to welcome you to the launch of the women leadership’s network in Thai Binh province. This is the first event under the initiative jointly implemented by the central Vietnam Women’s Union and UNDP Viet Nam, to support women’s leadership in public office. This is also the first activity within the framework of the new UNDP project “Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment” designed to support national efforts to accelerate women's political leadership and women’s participation in the peace and security agenda.

At the outset, I would like to commend Viet Nam’s achievements in resolving gender disparities in education, health, and economic participation.

In the area of women’s participation in politics, Viet Nam has also achieved remarkable progress compared with other countries in the region. Indeed, the results of last year’s election were very encouraging in terms of the increased number of women delegates to the National Assembly and provincial People’s Council. The percentage of women in the 15th National Assembly Plenum is now at 30.26 percent—an increase by 3.54% from the 14th National Assembly Plenum. For the 2021-2026 People’s Council offices, women account for 29 percent, at the provincial level, 29.08 percent at the district level, and 28.98 percent at commune level which are all higher than the previous term. But we know that these results are still below Viet Nam’s own targets set by the Party of reaching 35 percent of women’s representation in the National Assembly and People Councils at all levels. And even more important, this target is not ambitious enough to ensure gender parity in elected bodies, which in real terms would mean having a 50:50 representation.

Achieving gender equality in public office in Viet Nam requires a lot more work. Findings from a UNDP (PAPI) report in 2020 indicated that social and cultural beliefs remain as one of the major obstacles to increase women's participation at village and provincial levels where voters still prefer men candidates with families over women candidates with families. These discriminatory social norms represent serious barriers to ensuring gender equality and reinforce the wrong perception that men are better fit for leadership positions than women.  

I must emphasize that Women’s rights to participate in political life have been enshrined in international laws including the Convention on Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) and the International Covenant on Civil and Political Rights (ICCPR) that Vietnam has ratified. Every woman has an equal right to speak with authority on the decisions that affect their lives. 

They have the right to be equally represented and to be consulted, and we all know that this the only way to ensure that decisions are inclusive, responsive, and reflecting the needs of the entire population.

UNDP’s research on the “Roles, performance and contributions of Vietnamese women representatives during the 2016-2021 period” published in 2021 has provided significant evidence to demonstrate that both men and women delegates perform equally well in their legislative, oversight and representative functions. In addition, it proved that women’s contribution to Viet Nam’s development in the areas of education, health and social protection among others have been fundamental. However, their engagements in other crucial areas of public policy such as public finance, national security, international relations, among others, remain more limited.

Since 2000s, UNDP has been continuously supporting women’s leadership and participation in public office at all levels. Today’s event is an important milestone in our efforts to support women’s leadership at provincial level.

By bringing together a diverse group of women leaders, the Network we are creating today, will provide a platform for exchange of experiences and ideas and create a nurturing environment for peer-learning and mentorship among women leaders. In addition, the network equips women leaders with knowledge not only on leadership skills, gender equality but also economic integration and diplomacy practices helping them enhance their capacity to enter non-traditional fields which are normally dominated by men.   This is also indeed a much-needed space for enabling women of different backgrounds and different generations to work together and advance gender equality in Viet Nam. I hope the network in Thai Binh will benefit from the trainings and platforms for policy discussions that are part of this initiative. Depending on the results and lessons learned we hope other provinces will follow your example.  

Today’s event is also very timely as next week we will celebrate the international women’s day on March 8^th. It is a great occasion to commemorate the important role of women in realizing Viet Nam’s socio-economic visions and aspirations.  Vietnamese women have been at forefront of the COVID-19 response; therefore, they should be at every table where the decision is made on recovery efforts to achieve an inclusive and equal post-pandemic future for all.

Allow me to conclude with two quotes.  One from Kofi Annan- Former Secretary-General of the United Nations: “There is no tool for development more effective than the empowerment of women”.  The other from Achim Steiner UNDP Administrator: “Women must have the opportunity to play a full role in shaping the pivotal decisions being made right now,” as choices we make as we recover from the COVID-19 pandemic “will affect the wellbeing of people and the planet for generations to come.” 

I believe that the changes we need for a sustainable, peaceful, and equal future rest in your hands. I very much look forward to working with all of you here today as active agents of change to remove all institutional and cultural barriers for the advancement of women’s leadership in Vietnam.

Thank you for joining us and wish you a very successful first training.

Xin cam on!