Enhancing relations between Vietnamese and Finnish women
All delegates at the meeting. During the meeting, the two leaders shared the status of women and the activities of women’s organizations of the two countries.
VWU Vice - President Tran Lan Phuong highly appreciated the longstanding friendship and cooperation between Vietnam and Finland over the past 50 years. She expressed admiration for Finland's achievements in gender equality and women's development, noting that 50% of members of the government and city councils and 47% of parliamentarians are women. Especially, Finland notably ranks third out of 146 countries in gender gap index and consistently holds the position of the world's happiest country for several years.
Ms. Tran Lan Phuong (on the left) and Ms. Inka Hopsu
At the meeting, VWU Vice - President also shared about the participation of Vietnamese women in all areas of political, economic, cultural, and social life. Particularly, there is a significant propotion of women participated in the fields of education (over 75%) and healthcare (over 63%). In general, Vietnam has many policies, and the VWU has numerous activities to care for women, especially focusing on economic empowerment.
Ms. Inka Hopsu expressed her impression and appreciation of the Vietnam’s policies and the VWU’s activities in promoting gender equality and women's development. She also shared the leadership role and activities of the Coalition of Finnish Women’s Associations, comprising three member organizations: the Feminist Association Union, the National Council of Women of Finland, and the Association for Gender Studies in Finland. The leaders of these organizations take turns to lead the Coalition. The Coalition advocates for policies benefiting both women and men, particularly vulnerable groups. Alongside acknowledging the achievements of Finnish women in gender equality and development, Ms. Inka also discussed some challenges faced by Finnish women, including issues related to educational level and income disparities between manual and corporate labor.
In conclusion, the two leaders looked forward to further and closer cooperation in the future through exchange of information and experiences between the two organizations as well as women of the two countries.
