VietNamNet Bridge – Gender inequality remains a huge problem in
the field of employment in Viet Nam, with a pay divide between men and women
growing and experts warning that there is continued discrimination against
women in recruitment and benefit policies.
According to the General
Statistics Office's Labour Survey Report for the first nine months of 2012,
female workers had a lower average monthly income than their male counterparts
in all economic sectors - State, non-State and foreign-invested. The pay gap
was estimated at about 13 per cent.
The International Labour
Organisation's (ILO) Global Wage Report 2012-13 also shows that the gender pay
gap in Viet Nam has been widening in comparison to the declining tendency of
the gap reported in many countries.
Dang Quynh Dung, a former
employee of a construction company in Ha Noi, said she quit her old job because
she felt it was unfair that she was being paid less than her male co-workers
for the same job.
"I was assigned as many
responsibilities as my former male co-workers but was paid US$300 less,"
Dung complained.
Tim De Meyer, ILO's senior
specialist on International Labour Standards and Labour Law pointed out that
the gender pay gap increased when employers were given too much freedom with
their staff policy, implying the need for intervention.
Meyer added that women could not
enjoy the same career path as men as they were more burdened by family-related
responsibilities and had more frequent breaks because of these domestic duties.
Tran Thu Phuong, head of the Viet
Nam General Confederation of Labour (VGCL)'s women workers department, said
gender inequality can be seen in public job advertisements.
A reporter at Viet Nam News
observed that postings on the front page of the job placement website
Vietnamworks.org showed that some companies, including a construction company
in HCM City, a food company in northern Bac Ninh Province and a service company
in northern Ha Long City, stated an obvious preference for male applicants.
Despite these companies
requesting that only men apply, there was no clear reason given why the vacant
positions (accountant, chief executive officer and project manager) could not
be filled by women.
Phuong argued that inequality in
recruitment and salary payment are having a considerable negative effect on the
working spirit and professional ambition of women.
"This means that half of the
labour force may feel less motivated, contributing to decreased productivity
and decreased work efficiency," she said, adding that any reduction in the
financial income of individuals and the operational efficiency of enterprises
would have negative consequences for the country's floundering economy.
Breaking stereotypes
According to Nguyen Kim Lan,
ILO's national programme co-ordinator in gender and employment, inequality was
caused by gender stereotypes which started among boys and girls at a very young
age.
She said that due to their
interaction with parents, children formed an early idea about which subjects
they should choose to focus on in schools and later which kinds of professions
they should pursue.
For example, boys tend to choose
natural sciences as their major at college, while girls tend to pick social
sciences and foreign languages.
Suzette Mitchell, country
representative of UN Women in Viet Nam said the country needs to break its
stereotype about suitable professions.
She argued that women are
under-represented in decision-making and management positions, citing the 2/20
ratio between women and men holding ministerial positions in Viet Nam and the
much lower ratio of women sitting in the National Assembly compared to men.
Nguyen Mai Huyen, a traffic
policewoman in Ha Noi, gave an example of gender discrimination when responding
to media questions about the mobilisation of policewomen to leave offices and
control traffic circulation on the roads at the beginning of the year.
Huyen said her accquaintances and
friends were initially under the impression that their new assignment was only
a strategy to create a nice image for the police force, and many still believed
that men were better suited for the job.
Huyen pointed out that in reality
the group had proved their ability with their work performance.
"In addition to fulfilling
family responsibilities, women nowadays are capable of doing the tasks that had
previously been seen as being the domain of men. They may even be doing them
better," declared Huyen.
Call for change
Pointing out that indirect
discrimination had the biggest effects on the gender pay gap, Tim De Meyer from
ILO said Viet Nam should adopt the principle of "equal pay for work of
equal value" instead of the current principle of "equal pay for equal
work".
De Meyer cited an example by
comparing the professions of motor mechanics and nurses.
He pointed out that motor
mechanics working in a male-dominant environment are paid more than nurses who
are mostly women, even though nursing should score higher in terms of required
skills, training, tolerance of working conditions and responsibility.
He said a comparison between the
remuneration of women and men when they do different jobs can make it apparent
how women earn less because the remuneration reflects the worker's gender
rather than the actual contents of the job.
De Meyer added that the
retirement age should not be based on gender at present as women retire five
years earlier than men - an opinion that mirrored the positions of many labour
experts, including senior State officials.
Nguyen Thi Thu Hong, vice
president of the Viet Nam General Confederation of Labour, pointed out that
reducing the gender gap was a process that involved the combined efforts of
employers, trade unions and female workers themselves.
"Don't limit yourself,"
said Mitchell of the UN Women as she called for young people to fight for their
ambitions and break free from professional stereotypes about women and men to
create equal opportunities for all.
Source: VNS
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