The workshop organised by the Committee on Ethnic Minority Affairs (CEMA), the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) Vietnam, attracted the participation of 30 delegates from eight provinces and cities nationwide representing Ethnic Minority Committees at provincial and district levels.
According to Nguyen Thi Tu, Director of Ethnic Minority Department, CEMA, the intersectionality of discrimination based on both gender and ethnicity bears the most significant impact, resulting in inequalities faced by ethnic minority women and girls.
It also affects their ability to access, participate and benefit from socio-economic development policies in ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and geographical areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, she said, adding that gender inequality prevents women and girls from reaching their full potential and causes serious socio-economic losses. Hence, gender equality is an inseparable strategy in the process of developing and implementing a socio-economic development plan in ethnic minority areas.
Vu Phuong Ly, Programme Specialist of UN Women Vietnam, emphasised that, in the context of Vietnam’s commitment to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs) and the pledge to “leave no one behind”, gender inequality issues in ethnic minority areas must not only be considered in the policy making process but also must include a strong mechanism to monitor the investment of resources to advance gender equality.
So far, the financial resources used to address gender inequality issues in general, especially in ethnic minority areas, are still very limited, which greatly hinders the implementation of plans and programmes to advance women and girls in ethnic minority groups, she noted.
With highly engaged participants during the two-day workshop, all policy recommendations on promoting gender equality will be presented to the drafting team of the Master Plan for Socio-Economic Development for ethnic minority and mountainous areas, and geographical areas with extremely difficult socio-economic conditions, for the 2021-2015 period, with a vision to 2030.
