A medical worker explains reproductive healthcare to women living in a mountainous province. The World Bank has funded a new Việt Nam’s data survey on gender. — VNA/VNS Dương Ngọc

HÀ NỘI — The World Bank (WB) has signed an agreement with the State Bank of Việt Nam (SBV) to provide non-refundable aid worth 740,000 AUD (US$563,000) through the Australia-World Bank Group Strategic Partnership’s second phase to help Việt Nam conduct a nationwide survey on gender policymaking.

The survey is part of the economic empowerment project for Vietnamese women, performed by the General Statistics Office (GSO). It covers 6,000 men and women across the country to collect data on their daily time allocations.

Carolyn Turk, World Bank Country Director for Việt Nam, said despite progress in improving gender equality in education, health, and economic empowerment, Việt Nam still faces many challenges in gender equality.

Developing a comprehensive gender database is important for monitoring gender gaps and designing effective solutions, she added.

Việt Nam established a set of national gender development indicators in 2011, but nearly two-thirds of them are not classified by gender. Meanwhile, there are no indicators related to the use of time.

Measuring the use of unpaid time, such as the time spent on household chores, is important for measuring the contributions of men and women in their families, and for understanding how investments and public policies affecting the use of time can reduce gender gaps in the labour market and promote gender equality.

Australian Ambassador to Vietnam Robyn Mudie said one of the main reasons 40 per cent of women are not engaged in the Vietnamese labour market is due to their responsibilities in taking care of their families.

The survey will provide more data on the time for unpaid jobs and serve as a foundation for redistributing those fairly for equality and for the economy, she said.

Australia is pleased to support the Vietnamese Government and the World Bank Group in conducting this survey, the ambassador added. — VNS