The annual Asia-Pacific Women CEOs in Cooperatives Summit, held as part of the International Cooperative Alliance Asia-Pacific (ICA-AP) Regional Board Meeting, carries the theme "Empowering Leadership: Navigating the Future of Cooperatives with Women at the Helm".
In her opening speech, Chairwoman of the Vietnam Cooperative Alliance (VCA) Cao Xuan Thu Van highlighted gender equality and empowerment of women in economic development as global and regional concerns. Many cooperatives, established and led by women, are operating effectively, contributing to job creation and income growth.
Vietnam's agricultural sector, while lacking comprehensive data, shows promising signs of women’s leadership, with at least 10% of women in management roles in 18,340 agricultural cooperatives and 85% of female workers having stable employment in this field.
The "One Commune, One Product" programme, a key driver of rural development, boasts 39% female-led entities, and 20% of cooperatives with registered OCOP products are managed by women.
Van also pointed out the Vietnamese Government's policies and mechanisms that encourage women's participation in collective economic development and cooperative establishment. She cited a project approved in January 2023, which supports cooperatives led by women and aims to create jobs for female workers by 2030. Additionally, the national gender equality strategy for 2021-2030 targets at least 27% of female directors or cooperative managers by 2025 and 30% by 2030.
Le Hoai Trung, Secretary of the Communist Party of Vietnam (CPV) Central Committee and head of its Commission for External Relations, described the collective economy and cooperatives as vital components of the national economy, playing a significant role in socio-economic development.
He encouraged the VCA to proactively collaborate with relevant ministries and agencies to launch initiatives that enhance the role of female managers and leaders in cooperatives, thereby supporting the national strategy.
The summit will continue through July 31, with discussions on challenges and opportunities for women in cooperatives.
