Women National Assembly delegates play important roles in Vietnam’s development during the 2016-21 terms, according to the latest study by the University of Social Sciences and Humanities (USSH) under the Vietnam National University in Hanoi, the United Nations Development Program (UNDP) in Vietnam.

The timely study provides empirical evidence of how women have contributed socially, economically and politically to the country’s progress over the past five years.

This is an important foundation for society and voters to have stronger confidence in women candidates in the 2021 National Elections.

An overview of the workshop. Photo: UNDP

“We learned in 2020 that women, across the world, have shouldered particular and acute burdens due to Covid-19, and so today’s focus on women’s competence, contribution, visibility and voice couldn’t be more timely,” said Mr.Robin Bednall, Acting Counsellor, Economic and Development Cooperation, Australian Embassy Vietnam.

During the 2016-21 term, the National Assembly has its first female chairperson and 26.7 % of female representatives. UNDP’s global Human Development Report 2020 ranked Vietnam 65th out of 162 countries and among the top third of countries globally for women’s share of seats in parliament.

The study, “Roles of Women Representatives in Vietnam’s Development During The 2016-2021 Term”, shows that women perform equally well as men across all main functions and duties. Male National Assembly delegates are more proactive in meeting voters, however, female delegates more frequently engage with voters via social networking applications than male delegates.

There is no significant difference between female and male delegates in the amount of time they spend on performing their delegates’ roles and responsibilities during this term.

In terms of value and competence measures, female delegates are evaluated to ‘having fair and reasonable statements’ and ‘having the ability to persuade others’ more than male delegates.

“Most of the National Assembly delegates interviewed think that there will come a time when the number of female and male delegates in the National Assembly is equal. It is important to join hands to create an enabling environment for female delegates to realize their potential," said Prof. Dr. Phạm Quang Minh from the USSH.

“Women’s equal representation in leadership and decision-making at all levels, in both public and private sectors, is essential for realizing Viet Nam’s socio-economic development vision and key to equitable development that Leaves No One Behind,” UNDP Resident Representative Caitlin Wiesen noted.

“UNDP is looking forward to continuing to work with our development partners and the National Assembly towards closing the gender gap, both qualitatively and quantitatively - not only getting more women in elected positions, but also supporting them to be effective when they get elected,” she added.