English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

A Gendered and Rights-Based Review of Vietnamese Legal Documents through the Lens of CEDAW
(a) Enterprises employing many female workers shall be given tax and financial preferential
treatment according to the regulations of the law.
(b) Female workers in rural areas shall be given credit aid, encouraged to expand agriculture,
forestry and fishery according to the law.
Article 13: Gender Equality in the Field of Labour
(3) Measures to promote gender equality in the field of labour include:
(a) To provide for proportion of man and woman to be recruited;
(b) To train and enhance capacity and capability for female workers;
(c) Employers create safe and hygienic working condition for female workers in some
hard and dangerous professions and occupations or those that have direct contact
with harmful substances.
Article 14: Gender Equality in the Field of Education and Training
(5) Measures to promote gender equality in the field of education and training include:
(a) To provide for the proportion of man and woman participating in the study and training;
(b) To assist female workers in rural areas in vocational training under the law.
The Law on Gender Equality thus provides clarity as to what ‘measures to promote
equality’ are. It would have been preferable to term the measures ‘temporary special measures’
to avoid confusion with other measures that promote equality that are not of a temporary
character. The definition in Article 5(6) of the law, though, has substantial similarity to what is
provided for in GR 25.
It must be noted, however, that the concept of ‘temporary special measures’ requires
that the focus of temporary special measures is not simply on ‘roles, positions, conditions and
opportunities’. As temporary special measures seek to ensure substantive equality, they
should also look into disparities in ‘rights’ as well as in ‘benefits’ or ‘impact’. The later is highlighted
by international documents (especially CEDAW and GR 25) when saying that temporary
special measures should ensure de facto or substantive equality, hence focusing on
impact or effect and not simply on legal equality.
Recommendation: It is recommended that the definition of measures to promote
equality in Article 5(6) of the Law on Gender Equality include ensuring equality in
‘rights’ and ‘benefits’ or ‘impact’.
Further, the examples of ‘measures to promote equality’ in Articles 11-14 and 19 of the
Law on Gender Equality show that there is a need to understand better what temporary special
measures are, especially in listing what temporary special measures are required. For
example, Article 13(3)(c) - i.e. creating safe and hygienic working conditions for women workers
in some hard, dangerous professions or those involving contact with harmful substances -
should not be considered a temporary special measure. It is the obligation of the workplace to
provide safe and hygienic working conditions for its employees, whether men or women, on a
permanent and not a temporary basis. See also Part V.8.3, Indicator 72 for more discussion
on this issue.
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Temporary special measures and measures in favour of maternity (Article 4 of CEDAW)