Vietnamese delegation at the conference was led by the Minister of the Ministry of Labor-Invalids and Social Affairs Dao Ngoc Dung, Chairman of the National Committee for the Advancement of Women in Vietnam. Attending the meeting was Ms. Nguyen Phuong Nga, Ambassador - Head of Permanent Mission of Vietnam to the United Nations.

This is an important forum of the United Nations with the participation of many representatives of the Government, organizations member countries of United Nations, international organizations and non-governmental organizations (NGOs), activists on gender equality and advancement of women from all over the world. This year, Costa Rica's President and nearly 100 Ministers in charge of social welfare and gender equality in the United Nations also attended this conference.

Speaking on behalf of ASEAN countries at the general session of the meeting on March 13th, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung said "Empowering women's economic power is the most practical and effective way to bridge the gender gap, implement long-term commitments on gender equality and ultimately achieve the goals of the 2030 Agenda." According to Minister Dao Ngoc Dung, ASEAN countries have made great strides in promoting the advancement of women at the national and regional levels. However, the limitations and barriers to gender equality must be removed to ensure that women and men enjoy equal economic opportunities and bring sustainable growth for ASEAN area.

"ASEAN will continue its efforts in all areas: gender mainstreaming, increasing the participation of women in the labor force, in the economic, social and political spheres, education and vocational training to empower women and ensure that women enjoy full human rights and fundamental freedoms."- Minister Dao Ngoc Dung emphasized. In his speech on behalf of the Government of Vietnam, he affirmed that Vietnam highly agreed with the theme of the meeting that strengthening the economic empowerment of women was a strong commitment and  one of the top priorities in Vietnam.

Viet Nam has made great achievement in this area, manifested through the finalization and practical implementation of the legal system and policies in line with the Convention on the Elimination of all forms of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) of United Nations, International Labor Organization conventions (ILO) and the Beijing Platform for Action on women.

With the efforts of Vietnam and the effective cooperation of partners and United Nations organizations, Viet Nam has successfully implemented the Millennium Development Goals (MDGs) on gender equality. Currently, the proportion of women entering the labor market is nearly 73%; The rate of female ownership of enterprises and farm was 24.9%.

According to a report of the World Economic Forum in 2016, Vietnam ranked 65th out of 144 countries on the gender gap index (up 18 degrees from 2015), the labor force participation rate of female/ male was 0.92 - near equilibrium approach. Many programs, activities, models of support, entrepreneurial training, access to finance, credit, development of women entrepreneurship network, and secondary vocational training for women were also deployed effectively.

However, Vietnam still faces a number of challenges: female workers mainly work in informal sectors and have limited access to independent income; there is a gender gap in job quality, employment status and income between male and female workers is unfair; women-owned businesses are often micro-scale, informal, focused on the commercial sector, and low profits. Furthermore, traditional attitudes that underestimate the potential of women still exist along with objective issues such as access to employment, resources, natural disasters, epidemics, financial status, which led to failure in respond to changes in employment due to the development of the 4th Industrial Revolution. Global economic growth has bottomed out over the years, and trade protection trends continue to be a challenge for women.

In this context, with the determination to achieve the goal of no one left behind, the Government of Vietnam proposed some solutions: (i) Supporting women, especially young women in skills and training in emerging fields (such as science, technology, engineering and mathematics); (ii) Prioritizing budget spending on social protection and health care to help women to reduce family burdens and increase access to social protection; (iii) Investing in improving the productivity and income capacities of women based on agriculture as the main source of livelihood and ensuring that women workers have equal access to resources.

Minister Dao Ngoc Dung affirmed Vietnam's commitment and willingness to work side by side with the UN Member States and development partners in resolving and striving to achieve the common goals of economic empowerment for women.

Within the framework of the session, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung gave speeches at high-level meetings and side events, including: Discussion on "Strengthening the role of women in agriculture and rural areas in Viet Nam " and the launching ceremony of the Decade of Household Agriculture Initiative led by Costa Rica President Luis Guillermo Solis; workshop ‘’Addressing the consequences of favoring boys and underestimating value of girls’’ organized by the United Nations Population Fund.

On the occasion of taking part in the main activities at CSW 61, Minister Dao Ngoc Dung and his delegation paid a working visit to Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations, awarded Commemorate Medal for the Cause of Labor-Invalids and Social Affair to Ambassador Nguyen Phuong Nga, and gave Certificate of Merit to the Mission to recognize the great contributions and effective support  in the fields of labor, gender equality, human rights, the rights of people with disabilities, ... which are main focus of the Ministry of Labor-Invalids and Social Affairs.

Minister Dao Ngoc Dung gave certificate of the Ministry of Labor-Invalids and Social Affairs

to Permanent Mission of Viet Nam to the United Nations