The WEPs introduced by UN Women and UN Global Compact present an opportunity to fill the existing gap by raising awareness among enterprises and integrate gender perspective in the business environment and practices. Almost 2,000 companies have so far joined the cause globally, including 49 entities from Vietnam.
Jointly held by the UN Women Vietnam and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneurs Council (VWEC), the forum discussed how the private sector can empower women in the workplace, market place and community to provide guidance to enterprises to start implementing the changes towards greater equality through the WEPs.
According to statistics from the General Statistics Office of Vietnam in 2017, women in the country constitute 48% of Vietnam’s total workforce. Yet, there are many barriers preventing women from equal access to economic opportunities and participation compared to men.
In private enterprises, women are less likely to be promoted and tend to fall off as the career ladder goes higher. According to Deloitte (2017), Vietnamese enterprises have less than 18% of women on executive boards and only 7% of companies are led by a women CEO.
Nguyen Thi Tuyet Minh, Chairwoman of VWEC emphasised that promoting equal opportunities for men and women in the private sector would help all genders to reach their full potential and creativity, thereby enhancing productivity and creating competitiveness and sustainable development for the enterprises. WEP is a powerful tool for enterprises to achieve them, she stated.
At the event, 15 companies signed the commitment to the WEPs.
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15 companies signed the commitment to the WEPs at the forum. (Photo: UN Women Vietnam)
