Promoting Gender Equality in Vietnam
Seminar on Supporting Women in Digital Transformation amid the Covid-19 Pandemic towards Sustainable Development
Women ambassadors, leaders of the VWU, and representatives from private sector, NGOs and international organisations attended the seminar.
HSF
On the occasion of the Vietnamese Women’s Day and the 91st founding anniversary of the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU), Hanns Seidel Foundation in Vietnam (HSF) has supported the VWU and the Ministry of Foreign Affairs (MoFA) in organising the hybrid seminar on “Supporting Women in Digital Transformation amid the Covid-19 Pandemic towards Sustainable Development”. Many women ambassadors of several countries to Vietnam, and representatives from private sector and various NGOs, local and international organisations gathered together in Hanoi for the seminar, while many delegates from 63 cities and provinces nationwide joined the event virtually.
Mr Michael Siegner – Resident Representative of HSF Vietnam spoke at the event
HSF
In his opening remarks, Mr Michael Siegner – Resident Representative of HSF Vietnam highlighted that there was no path to sustainable development without the genuine and equal participation of women, especially in the context of digital transformation and socio-economical recovery in the post-pandemic era. Meanwhile, Ms Ha Thi Nga – president of the VWU pointed out the fairly huge gender gap in terms of digital literacy and skills as well as the participation in a digital society. Furthermore, she asserted that supporting women in digital transformation is an urgent task which requires long-term strategies when pursuing the goal of achieving sustainable development goals. In this context, she also referred to VWU’s efforts in supporting women in digital transformation such as promoting the use of online public relations tools in VWU agencies and providing training courses in the application of information technology in business for women.
Panel discussion about opportunities and challenges facing women in the context of digitalisation and post-pandemic recovery
HSF
During the panel discussion, Ms Robyn Mudie – Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Ms Grete Løchen – Norwegian Ambassador to Vietnam, Ms Vu Thi Quynh Anh – Deputy Team Leader of the Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) Program, and Ms Le Kim Anh – President of Hanoi Women’s Union analyse critically the issue of gender inequality in the context of digital transformation in the post-pandemic era, emphasising opportunities and challenges facing women and girl in this context, and offering several concrete and practical recommendations for narrowing the gender gap and empowering women in the digital age for a rapid, fair and sustainable recovery from the COVID-19 pandemic. Moreover, representatives from MoFA, the Delegation of European Union to Vietnam, FPT groups, and provincial women’s unions affirmed supporting women in digital transformation is a crucial and challenging task that requires a close collaboration of all stakeholders including the government at all levels, relevant ministries, central and provincial women’s unions, private sector, as well as local and international organisations.