Up to 1.6 million jobs added each year

Factory workers in Vietnam

Vietnam has created 1.5-1.6 million new jobs each year since 2011, 48 percent of which are generated for women.

The information was released at a conference held by the Ministry of Labour, Invalids and Social Affairs and the Vietnam Women’s Union in Hanoi on October 17 to review 10 years of implementing the Law on Gender Equality.

As many as 30,000 – 40,000 female workers are sent to work abroad each year.

Meanwhile, some 30 percent of businesses in Vietnam are owned by women in recent years as compared to only 4 percent in 2009. The figure placed the nation 19th out of 54 nations in the index of women entrepreneur, and seven out of 54 countries with the highest proportion of female business owners.

However, a majority of the women-owned companies are micro- or small-sized firms, making it difficult for them to get access to capital resources.

Although the share of Vietnamese women in total work force has stayed stable at around 48-48.5 percent in the past decade, there is a dramatic gender wage difference, with women receiving around 4.82 million VND (208 USD) per month compared to men with 5.48 million VND.

Besides, difference in the retirement age also affects women’s promotion, wage, income and social insurance regime./.