Contributing Inputs and Comments to Law on Gender Equality

Recently, the Vietnam Chamber of Commerce and Industry (VCCI) co-operated with the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women’s Union to organise a seminar to gather inputs and comments to the Law on Gender Equality. The law is necessary, according to Pham Thi Thu Hang, director of VCCI Small and Medium-sized Enterprise Promotion Centre, as it will eliminate gender obstacles within enterprises and create labour interest and cost equality.

 

Ha Thi Thanh Van, from the Central Committee of the Vietnam Women’s Union, said that the building of the Law on Gender Equality was necessary as opinions about gender had not yet been mentioned deeply enough in the existing legal documents of Vietnam. Also, there are still shortcomings and a lack of mechanism strong enough to enforce the documents. She said that in fact, gender inequality was still seen in many aspects, in particular economic one. At the same time, the international community requires membership obligations of Vietnam in ensuring human rights and gender equality.

 

The National Assembly put the building of the Law on Gender Equality into its 2002-2007 law building schedule in November 2003. A drafting board of the law was established in March, 2004. Van said that following the National Assembly’s law building reform, the law would be built on a basis of learning experience from foreign countries.