Women MPs discuss equality strategies

HA NOI — The development and implementation of national gender equality strategies are key topics at a two-day international workshop for women in central resort city of Nha Trang that finished yesterday.

The workshop, organised by the Committee for Social Affairs and female deputies of the National Assembly, also examined the roles of gender equality committees and women parliamentarians. It received technical support from the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP).

The workshop was told that globally, parliaments faced challenges in promoting gender equality in the workplace. These included raising the numbers of women MPs, making institutions more aware of their commitments, difficulties in balancing parliamentary work and family responsibilities, and a lack of consensus and consistency among MPs of both sexes in promoting equality.

Vice President of the National Assembly of Viet Nam, Tong Thi Phong, said that suitable mechanisms needed to be found for women and girls to enjoy the fruits of socio-economic development.

Phong said that sharing experiences and learning from initiatives in countries with similar political and cultural values was invaluable.

Participants came from Canada, Cambodia, China, Costa Rica, Japan, Laos, Malaysia, South Korea, Sweden, Thailand and Sri Lanka. — VNS