Vietnam has made strides in ensuring gender equality, Minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung said on the sidelines of the 63rd session of the UN Commission on the Status of Women (CSW) which is taking place in New York from March 11-22.

Female workers at a garment and textile company in Vietnam. 

Speaking with Vietnam News Agency correspondents, Dung said that as Vietnam chose “Safety Year for Women and Children” as the theme of 2019, the country will carry out numerous measures to aid women, with the focus on development goals.

It will step up poverty reduction, especially for ethnic minority groups, to develop comprehensively, and ensuring all women enjoy social welfare, he stated.

The law system will be completed to handle violence against women and woman trafficking, he added.

The minister said that Vietnam has seen an increasing number of women participating in politics at all levels. It also ranks second in Southeast Asia in the rate of women owning enterprises or holding leading positions in major groups, only after the Philippines.

The largest UN gathering on gender equality and women’s rights is attended by more than 100 other ministers, several vice presidents and deputy prime ministers and representatives from different non-governmental organisations and UN offices.

Minister Dung delivered a speech on Vietnam’s achievements in ensuring social welfare, and made proposals to promote social welfare and empowerment for women and narrow the gender gap on March 12.

On the sidelines of the event, he met with representatives from the UN Women, the UN Population Fund and delegations of Israel and Australia.-VNA