Vietnam highlights women's empowerment as member of UN Women Executive Board

Vietnam has started its membership in the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women) for the term 2025-2027. 

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations, attends the session on February 10. Photo: VNA

Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang, Head of Vietnam’s Permanent Mission to the United Nations (UN), on February 10 attended the annual session of the UN Women Executive Board as a member, the Vietnam News Agency reported.

This is the first meeting in 2025 of the UN Women Executive Board, with a focus on strengthening operations and shaping the 2026-2029 Strategic Plan.

The event took place as the UN prepares to mark several milestones, including the Beijing Declaration and Platform for Action (BffA) – a landmark document for advancing women’s rights and gender equality worldwide; the 20th anniversary of UN Security Council Resolution 1325 on Women, Peace, and Security; and the 15th anniversary of the establishment of UN Women.

During the meeting, countries shared their observations and concerns about the challenges to protecting women’s rights and achieving gender equality. In reality, women in many parts of the world continue to face conflicts, humanitarian crises, violence and discrimination, and are disproportionately affected by climate change, social injustice, and limited resources. Meanwhile, funding for these efforts has been constrained, and progress toward achieving the 2030 Agenda remains off track.

Speaking at the event, Ambassador Dang Hoang Giang stressed the need to evaluate progress, address challenges, and promote global priorities for gender equality. He advocated for greater female participation in science, technology, engineering, and math (STEM), improved resource allocation for healthcare and education, and greater transparency. He also called for measures to boost women’s representation, leadership training, and work-life balance policies.

The ambassador highlighted Vietnam’s achievements, such as the high female representation in the National Assembly and the country’s early adoption of a National Strategy for Gender Equality for 2020-2031.

He reaffirmed Vietnam’s commitment to partnering with UN Women and the global community to advance gender equality and the SDGs.

Vietnam's children enjoy Mid-Autumn Festival. Photo: Pham Hung/The Hanoi Times

Vietnam passed the Law on Gender Equality in 2006 and adopted a number of international conventions on gender equality, including the Convention on the Elimination of All Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW).

According to UN Women, Vietnam has shown its commitment to advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment (GEWE), through the adoption of a comprehensive legal framework on GEWE including the Law on Gender Equality; the Law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control; the National Strategy on Gender Equality; the National Programme on Gender-Based Violence Prevention; and the National Action Plan on Women, Peace and Security.

Founded in 2010, UN Women is the United Nations agency dedicated to advancing policies, standards, and programs that uphold women’s human rights and ensure that every woman and girl can realize her full potential.

The UN Women Executive Board is composed of representatives from 41 Member States, elected by the UN Economic and Social Council for a three-year term. Its membership is distributed regionally as follows: Africa (10), Asia and the Pacific (10), Eastern Europe (4), Latin America and the Caribbean (6), Western Europe and other States (5), and contributing countries (6).

As a member of the Executive Board, Vietnam has the authority to participate in the approval of the agency’s plans, programs, and decisions related to finance, administration, and budgeting.

Caroline T. Nyamayemombe, UN Women Representative in Vietnam, said Vietnam’s election to the UN Women’s Executive Board is is a well-deserved appointment given that Vietnam has made strides in recent years to address gender disparities and advance women’s rights across various sectors, including legislation, politics, education, and employment.