Hanoi (VNA) – Vietnam made outstandingachievements in gender equality in ethnic minority and mountainous areas in theperiod of 2015 to 2019, including a drop of 4.7 percent in the rate of childmarriage in ethnic minority groups, according to a report released on August 4.

The report “Figures on Ethnic Minority Women and Men in Viet Nam2015-2019,” along with the “Policy Brief: Gender issues in ethnic minority areas in Vietnam,” was launched in celebration of the International Day of the World’s Indigenous Peoples on August 9. The report was conducted by the UN Entity for Gender Equality and theEmpowerment of Women (UN Women) with financial support from the Embassy of Ireland inVietnam, and in coordination with the Institute of Labour Science and SocialAffairs under the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs(ILSSA-MOLISA), and the Department of Ethnic Minority Affairs - Committee forEthnic Minority Affairs (CEMA).

According to the report, the percentage of ethnic minorityhouseholds with access to the internet (Wi-Fi, cable, or 3G) increased 9.4times from 6.5 percent in 2015 to 61.3 percent in 2019, while the averageincome per capita per month of ethnic minorities in 2018 increased by 1.8 timesin four years, and the average monthly income per capita of ethnic minorityfemale-led households was always higher than that of male-led households.

The proportion of children attending school at the right ageincreased by 15.2 percent from 2015 to 2019; and the percentage of ethnicminority people participating in health insurance reached 93.5 percent with nodifference between men and women.

The two publications cover information on ethnic minoritywomen and men in Vietnam for the period of 2015-2019, including gender analysisoutcomes and providing policy recommendations for gender equality promotion inethnic minority areas in the country.

Data in the reports were analysed based on the findings ofthe Survey on the Socio-economic Situation of the 53 Ethnic Minority Groups inVietnam, which was conducted by the General Statistics Office in collaborationwith CEMA in 2015 and 2019. There are seven main topics: population; infrastructureand assets; labour, employment, and income; education and training; culture andsociety; health, environment, and sanitation; and ethnic minority cadres andcivil servants.

The reports also highlight persistent gender issues inethnic minority and mountainous areas which are affecting women and girls. Forinstance, while the overall rate of child and consanguineous marriage among the53 ethnic minority groups has reduced, the extent of reduction was uneven andhas continued to increase among a number of ethnic minority groups.

The analysis found that female ethnic minority workers aremore likely to undertake insecure jobs and are more vulnerable in the workplacethan their ethnic minority male and Kinh female counterparts. Also, while thepercentage of ethnic minority women aged 10-49 who give birth at healthfacilities reached 86.4 percent, it remains significantly lower than that of Kinhwomen which is over 99 percent.

Bui Ton Hien, Director of ILSSA-MOLISA said that in ethnicminority communities, women and girls are often more disadvantaged inaccessibility to opportunities and resources due to social norms which imposean inferior position to them, limit them within birth delivery and householdproduction activities.

Meanwhile, Luu Xuan Thuy, Director of Ethnic MinorityAffairs Department under the CEMA highly appreciated UN Women’s technicalcontribution and believed that gender equality analyses in ethnic minority areasare fundamental information and useful for the stakeholders in designingpolicies and intervention programmes to ensure that ethnic minority women arenot left behind in the country’s sustainable development process.

Elisa Fernandez Saenz, UN Women Representative in Viet Namsaid that the objective of the reports is to provide stakeholders with aclearer picture on the current gender equality situation in ethnic minorityareas in Vietnam, wherein gender issues are being well addressed by the government,but which needs further effort for intervention in both areas of policy andprogramme.

She emphasised that gender equality issues which intersectwith ethnicity are often difficult to tackle and require a comprehensiveapproach, as well as commitments of financial investment in the coming years.

“UN Women believes that these reports shall contribute tofilling the gap of gender statistics among ethnic minority groups in Vietnam,and to the progress of promoting socio-economic and sustainable development inethnic minority areas,” she said.

For her part, Lisa Doherty, Deputy Head of Development atthe Embassy of Ireland in Vietnam said that Ireland believes it is critical toempower and support women and their communities. The Embassy of Ireland’s partnership with UN Womenaims to ensure that the government's ethnic minority policies and programming -support for which has always been a central pillar of Ireland’s engagement inVietnam - include appropriately strong attention to gender considerations andprioritise women's empowerment, she added./.