The annual session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), taking place from 17 to 19 June, provided participating countries with a platform to share their commitments, achievements, and blueprints for advancing gender equality and women’s empowerment. Nguyen Hoang Nguyen, Minister Counsellor and Deputy Permanent Representative of Viet Nam to the UN, spoke at the meeting to reaffirm the country’s efforts in gender mainstreaming across sectors and regions.

2024 Achievements and 2025 Roadmap

Over the past year, Viet Nam has demonstrated progress achieving the Millennium Development Goals for Women and Girls, elevating women’s positions through the promulgation of the Law on Gender Equality, along with supporting legal documents and communication campaigns that promote the participation of women in economic, political, cultural, and social life. As a result, Vietnamese women are better able to reach their full potential, not only making significant contributions to national economic growth but also holding important roles in decision-making systems.

As of 2024, women are represented in key personal of 59% ministries and ministerial-level agencies, 74,6% of provincial authorities include women in their management teams, and women account for 30,26% of delegates in the 15^th National Assembly, exceeding the global average. In the private sector, women are increasingly active in entrepreneurship, representing 28,2% of business owners. These advancements paved the way for Viet Nam to level up its ranking of Gender Equality, rising 11 places compared to 2022, and placing the country 72^nd out of 146 nations. Notably, Viet Nam was elected to the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women).

Drawing on the achievements of these collective gender works, on 28 March 2025, the Ministry of Home Affairs announced six primary missions on Gender Equality to be implemented by ministries, ministerial-level agencies, cities, and provinces as follows:

• Enforcing the Law on Gender Equality at all levels from the central government to local provinces;
• Addressing challenges and barriers to the gender mainstreaming efforts, proposing solutions to reduce gender imbalance in employment, population structure, and income, particularly in the context of digitalisation, climate change, and natural disasters;  
• Monitoring the implementation of the National Strategy on Gender Equality for the 2021 – 2030 period, focusing on the unachieved goals of 2025 and evaluating the results after 5 years of implementation;
• Carrying out programmes and initiatives to promote Gender Equality, prevent gender-based violence, and encourage gender-related projects;
• Enhancing the capacity and effectiveness of governmental management on Gender Equality and the advancement of women;
• Strengthening international corporations, gender models, and the exchanges of good practices in gender mainstreaming.

Persistent Challenges in Bridging the Gender Gap

Despite notable accomplishments, gender-based discrimination remains across various sectors of social life.

The absence of effective monitoring and evaluation tools for the implementation of gender-related laws, strategies, programmes, and plans has resulted in fragmented information across provinces and sectors. Moreover, the insufficient capacity and low awareness of gender responsive approaches among civil servants and public employees contribute to slowing the progress of gender mainstreaming.

The recent report titled “The Green Edge: Women’s Employment and Leadership for Sustainable Business in Viet Nam” reveals that, despite the rise of renewable energy, plastics recycling, and rice production industries, women are poorly represented – accounting for only 23 per cent of formal jobs and 21 per cent of leadership roles on average. This highlighted the limited access of women and girls to education and employment opportunities in the fields of science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

Women, especially those living in remote areas, continue to face obstacles in accessing medical treatment and reproductive health services. They are also affected by entrenched gender norms within the family. For instance, men often hold the head position of the households and therefore have the authority to make decisions, allocate labour, and own land. In addition, the current global crisis – climate change, armed conflict, and economic upheaval compound the vulnerabilities faced by women and girls. 

To cope with gender setbacks, at the session of the Executive Board of the United Nations Entity for Gender Equality and the Empowerment of Women (UN Women), Nguyen Hoang Nguyen proposed multiple priorities for collective action. These include closing the digital divide; reinforcing the leadership role of women in the digital economy and AI governance; mobilising the sustainable financial source for gender equality programmes that align with national priorities and contexts, boosting female leadership and active participation across all sectors.