Vietnam ranks first in the region for gender equity

He said that Vietnam leads the Asia-Pacific region o­n promoting gender equality, however, a lot of work will need to be done to achieve the real gender equality.

According to the report, more than 50 percent of Vietnamese women do housework so they do not have direct income. The remaining mainly work in the private sector and their incomes are around 87 percent of that of men.

Meanwhile the average number of women with an income is 53 percent in the world and 70 percent in East Asian countries. Wage difference between women and men in the Asia-Pacific region is 54-90 percent.

The report affirmed that Vietnam has the highest number of women who have a seat in the National Assembly (NA) among ASEAN countries. o­ne in every four NA deputies is female while the number of women in legislative bodies in Japan and the Republic of Korea is just 10 percent.

In addition, fewer Vietnamese women suffer from domestic and filial abuse than others in regional countries. Slightly more than o­ne in five women are treated badly by their husbands in Vietnam while the figure in Papua New Guinea is o­ne in three.

Mr Hendra said at the meeting that to create more equality for women, measures should be undertaken, such as generating more jobs with income for women, ensuring safe migration and pouring more investment into health care and education.