Topic: 2024-Unpaid Care and Domestic Work
Country: Viet Nam
Delegate Name: Harpreet Kaur
Unpaid care and domestic work have long been critical yet undervalued aspects of the global economy, disproportionately carried out by women. In 2018, the International Labor Organization reported that women performed 76.2% of unpaid labor hours worldwide. Oxfam estimates that if paid the national minimum wage for these hours, the total would amount to $10.8 trillion annually. This labor includes domestic tasks such as cooking, cleaning, fetching water and firewood, and caring for children, disabled family members, and the elderly, duties that traditionally fall to women. This responsibility can hinder women’s access to education and employment, decreasing their earning potential and forcing them to choose between work and family care.
Viet Nam has been actively addressing the issue of unpaid care and domestic work performed by women. The National Strategy for Gender Equality 2011-2020 aimed to reduce women’s involvement in household duties to half that of men by 2015 and to one and a half times less by 2020. Furthermore, Viet Nam’s National Action Plan for implementing the 2030 Sustainable Development Agenda commits to promoting equality in family care. This plan recognizes the significance of unpaid labor and domestic work while also enhancing public services to alleviate burdens associated with forced labor. In addition to these efforts, nationwide campaigns have been launched to raise awareness about the importance of gender equality and to challenge traditional gender roles. The government has also made significant investments in childcare, healthcare, and other social services, which help to lighten the exploitative labor burden on women and enable them to participate more fully in the labor market. Despite these efforts, Viet Nam continues to face challenges due to data limitations, cultural norms, and resource constraints.
The Socialist Republic of Viet Nam is dedicated to collaborating with the global community to discover a solution to the ongoing crisis worldwide. We firmly believe that by fostering constructive discussions, promoting cooperation among countries, and demonstrating mutual respect for all parties involved, we can effectively establish lasting and sustainable gender equality.
