English - CEDAW Southeast Asia

CEDAW and the Law:
including: (i) training in general consultancy and marketing skills for consultants and lecturers;
(ii) training on establishment of enterprises, in general business management, marketing
administration, finance/accounting administration, business planning, technical/technological
management, and human resource administration. 625 Like the Decree on SMEs, the
programme has no gender-specific provisions.
Specific articles on women are found in the Law on Gender Equality. It provides “Men
and Women are equal in setting up a business, carrying out business and production activities,
managing business and are equal in accessing information, capital markets and labour
sources.” 626 The Law on Gender Equality also identifies as a violation impeding men or women
on account of their gender from setting up a business and carrying out business activities. 627
Conducting commercial advertisements that cause adverse consequences to the business
owners or traders of a particular gender is also prohibited by the law. 628
The Resolution on Work for Women provides, among the tasks and solutions to enable
the realization of women’s potential in the period of accelerating industrialization and
modernization: “The Government and relevant sectors should study the situation and issue
specific policies to create more favorable conditions for women’s development: Policies to
support women in training, accessing information, scientific and technological applications,
new technologies… Favorable policies to support women in the development of small and
medium businesses.”
According to a report by the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry, four years
after the introduction of the Enterprise Law, 27 percent of those registering a business were
women and 40 percent of household businesses were run by women. 629 The ratio of
businesswomen increased significantly from 15.00 to 17.00 percent in 1990-1995, to 24.74
percent in 2001 and to 20.00 percent in 2002 of total busines speople. 630
278
A survey of non-farm enterprises run by women shows that they are different from those
run by men. 631 In both rural and urban areas, women are likely to engage in retail sales, hotel
and restaurant operations, and production of textiles and garments. Men mainly run
enterprises producing or processing goods (other than textiles). Enterprises operated by
women typically employ fewer individuals and are less likely to have a business licence than
those operated by men. Women’s businesses are likely to be smaller than men’s businesses.
In relation to farming, female-operated farms cultivate only 54 percent of the land area
cultivated by male-operated farms. Female-operated farms tend to have less labour
resources, though they tend to cultivate the land more intensively when measured by labour
hours. 632 On account of less land cultivated, female-operated farms have lower profits.
Livestock raising is the most female–dominated income generating activity in agriculture.
625
Decree on SMEs, Article 6-11
626
Law on Gender Equality, Article 12(1)
627
Ibid., Article 40(2)(a)
628
Ibid., Article 40(2)(b)
629
Combined Fifth and Sixth Periodic Report , p. 48 citing the Viet Nam Chamber of Commerce and Industry report
630
Ibid.
631
Food and Agriculture Organization, Regional Office for Asia and the Pacific and UNDP Support for Policy and
Programme Development, ‘Gender Differences in the Transitional Economy of Viet Nam’, Food and Agriculture
Organization and United Nations Development Programme, Ha Noi, August 2002 (FAO Report), p. 10
632
Ibid., p. 11
Review of key legal documents and compliance with CEDAW