Female workers at a garment and textile company. — VNA/VNS Photo

HÀ NỘI — Fifteen Vietnamese businesses on Tuesday were honoured at the Women's Empowerment Principles (WEPs) Awards for their exemplary gender equality practices.

This is the third year the award has been held in Việt Nam by the UN Women and the Vietnam Women Entrepreneur Council, with support from the Australian Government – which has for years assisted gender equality-related activities in Việt Nam and UN Women's activities.

It aims to both recognise companies taking WEP aligned action on gender equality and to encourage more companies to take action by joining the WEPs.

The award has seven categories: leadership commitment, youth leadership, gender-inclusive workplace, gender-responsive marketplace, community engagement and partnerships, transparency and reporting, and small-and medium-sized enterprises joining the WEPs.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, Country Representative of UN Women Vietnam, expressed her belief that the award will inspire more companies to apply policies and practices promoting gender equality.

At the awards ceremony, UN Women and the Australian Embassy in Việt Nam co-organised a workshop on creating equal market opportunities by advancing gender-responsive procurement.

The function also saw a new cooperation programme named "WE RISE Together" introduced.

The programme, funded by the Australian Government through the Mekong-Australia Partnership, aims to boost gender-responsive procurement in Việt Nam. — VNS