Viet Nam has striven to promote gender equality, particularly in the pubic sector, Nguyen Thanh Hoa, deputy minister of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs, said in a report to the UN in New York on Tuesday.

"As a result, more and more Vietnamese women have found senior jobs in Government agencies. That is evidenced by the fact that the proportion of women in the National Assembly is one of the highest in any legislative body in the Asia-Pacific region," Hoa said. She added that literacy rates among women in Viet Nam had increased markedly over the last few years, as had the number of women able to access healthcare services.

Hoa's report was made at the 54th meeting of the UN Commission on the Status of Women, which reviewed the effectiveness of the Beijing platform on women's empowerment, implemented 15 years ago.

Despite Viet Nam's gender equality achievements, Hoa, who is also vice president of the Viet Nam National Committee for the Advancement of Women, said the country faced problems such as male chauvinism, domestic violence against women and social issues arising from globalisation.

She said Viet Nam was determined to implement a law on gender equality, as well as economic development, poverty reduction and the rights of women and girls in order to meet the 12 strategic targets of the Beijing platform.

"The country will also devise a national strategy for gender equality for the 2011-20 period," she said.

On the sidelines of the meeting, the Vietnamese delegation met and had working sessions with other UN members to seek opportunities for co-operation on issues concerning gender equality.

(Source: VNS)