Participation in wage employment -- Most men and women in Vietnam work as self-employed farmers. In 1998, 24 percent of men and 15 percent of women worked for wages anda still smaller proportion (20 percent of men and 10 percent of women) worked for wages in the non-agricultural sector. The National Strategy for the Advancement of Women to 2010 sets targets for women’s access to new jobs in the formal sector: the objectives specify that by 2005, 40 percent of new jobs in the formal sector will be taken by women and by 2010, 50 percent of new jobs should go to women. In 1998, women earned an average wage that was 87 percent of the male average wage. It will be important, as the formal sector grows, to ensure that women have the skills to compete for the better paid jobs as well as the lowerpaying service jobs (where they currently dominate).

## Targets andfuture challenges

## Box 4.

# MDG Goal Three: Reach Gender Equality and Empower Women

# Vietnam Development Goal: Ensure gender equality and empower women

Target 1: Increase the number of women in elective bodies at ail levels.

Target 2: Increase the participation of women in agencies and sectors [includes ministries, central agencies and enterprises] at all levels by 3-5 percent in the next 10 years. Target 3: Ensure that the names of both husband and wife appears on the land-use right certificates by 2005 Target 4: Reduce the vulnerability of women to domestic violence.

(Targets to improve equality in education are included in the education goal — which emphasizes universality of access to primary and lower secondary school) Source: Socialist Republic of Vietnam 2000 and Government of Vietnam (2001).

Representation in decisionmaking - Elections were held in 2002 to elect deputies to serve in the National Assembly for the next five years. Over one quarter (27 percent) of the newly-elected National Assembly deputies are women. Though this fell short of the target level of 30 percent, this still represents a slight increase of the last five-year term of the National Assembly (26 percent) which in turn was an increase over the previous term (18 percent). This level of female representation in national legislative bodies is high by Asian standards (comparing with 20 percent in China, 11 percent in the Philippines, 9 percent in Laos and 6 percent in Cambodia) but is less impressive at sub-national levels. The Government has set ambitious targets for the representation of women in political and government bodies over the coming decade. If met, this would see:

- © 15 percent of party committee members elected during the term of the 10 National Congress will be women;

- © 33 percent of National Assembly delegates during the 12" Legislature (2007-2012) will be women; and,

- © 28 percent of city/provincial People’s Councils members will be women in the 2004-2009 term (23 percent at district level).

In addition to specifying targets for these core areas covered by the gender equality MDG, the Government has set out a number of other important ways in which gender equality will be pursued. The National Commission for the Advancement of Women and the Women’s Union provided substantial input into the drafting of the CPRGS, which involved consulting women National Assembly delegates as well as Women’s Union members at local level. This input is reflected in a strong agenda for gender 20