During the recent visit to Vietnam, Australia’s Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Marise Payne announced initiatives to advance gender equality in the Southeast Asian country.The minister on Wednesday signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) on empowering women in diplomacy between the Department of Foreign Affairs and Trade and Vietnam’s Ministry of Foreign Affairs.
Australian Minister for Foreign Affairs and Minister for Women Marise Payne and Vietnamese Deputy Prime Minister, Minister of Foreign Affairs Pham Binh Minh sign the MOU on empowering women in diplomacy for Vietnam, Hanoi, June 12, 2018. Photo: Australian embassy
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In addition, the Australian government will provide AU$660,000 to UN Women to support the Ministry of Labor, Invalids and Social Affairs (MOLISA) with the development of Vietnam’s next ten-year National Strategy for Gender Equality 2021-2030. The strategy will set targets for Vietnam’s progress on gender equality in the coming decade, aligned with anticipated economic and social trends.
Australia’s Investing in Women program will be extended for a second four-year phase, with Australia committing over AU$58 million for the program across four target countries (Vietnam, the Philippines, Indonesia and Myanmar). Investing in Women aims to improve women’s economic participation as employees and as entrepreneurs. In Vietnam, the new funding will support more businesses to improve their workplace gender equality policies and practices, increase impact investment in women-owned small and medium enterprises, and support local organizations to influence attitudes to workplace gender equality.
Forty new partnerships with the private sector, civil society and government will improve economic opportunities for rural and ethnic minority women in north-west Vietnam. The partnerships, with total Australian funding of $10.4 million, will be delivered through Australia’s Gender Responsive Equitable Agriculture and Tourism (GREAT) program.
Minister Payne said Australia is expanding its engagement with Vietnam on women’s empowerment and gender equality, because women are critical to Vietnam’s continued success and economic growth.
“The empowerment of women and girls is a priority for Australia’s development assistance and a key focus of Australia’s economic partnership with Vietnam,” said Minister Payne.
“Australia’s support for gender equality in Vietnam includes investments that target women’s leadership and skills development, promoting women’s economic participation, and ending violence against women,” she added.
