The number of women in leadership positions in political organisations,
including the National Assembly and Government, has yet to reach its
full potential, said Deputy Head of the Vietnam Women’s Union Nguyen Thi
Thu Ha.
Speaking at a policy dialogue on promoting women’s
participation in politics on March 26, Ha said improper regulations and
gender discrimination were huge impediments for women who wanted to get
involved in politics.
According to the union’s 2011 statistics,
women filled over 8 percent of posts in party committees at the central
level, 11 percent at the provincial level, 15 percent at the district
level and 18 percent at the commune level.
Vice
Director of Centre for Education Promotion and Empowerment of Women
(CEPEW) Ngo Thu Ha said the number of women in leadership posts has
barely increased and even decreased.
In the National Assembly
(NA), for example, the percentage of female deputies declined in the
last decade, from 27.3 percent in the 11 th NA (2002-07) to 24.2
percent in the 13 th NA (2011-16).
She said few women have real
power in decision making and few take key positions, blaming the problem
on regulations about retirement age and a lack of regulations about
women’s candidacy for future leadership posts.
Nearly half of women over 46 participate in political activities,
according to a survey about women’s political participation conducted
late last year by CEPEW and Action Aid in Hanoi , Quang Ninh, Dak Lak,
Tra Vinh and Ho Chi Minh City . Under current regulations, it is
difficult for them to become promising candidates for future leadership
positions.
Only 21 percent of current female leaders
are under 36 years old – indicating that there maybe a shortage of
viable candidates in the future.
Traditionally,
women are saddled with responsibility for both family and work, making
it especially hard for them to get politically involved.
Deputy director of Gender Equity Department under the Ministry of
Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs Vu Ngoc Thuy said Vietnam launched a
national gender equity strategy toward 2020 three years ago that
included projects to strengthen women’s capacities and create candidates
for future leadership posts.
She said drastic measures are needed to boost the participation of women in leadership.
By
2020, the country aims for women to fill at least 25 percent of posts
in party committees at all levels and 35-40 percent of seats in the
National Assembly. State and Government agencies aim to have females
occupy at least 30 percent of key leadership positions.-VNA