Gender equality in all areas including sports is one of the goals in the National Strategy on Gender Equality for the 2011-2020 period. To help raise awareness and actions on gender equality, the Sports Authority of Viet Nam, the highest sports management body in Viet Nam, has encouraged officials, civil servants, public employees, and workers to actively participate in sports activities. These activities incorporate basic content, knowledge, and skills on gender equality and domestic violence prevention for the advancement of women.
Viet Nam has a high rate of female participation in sports, especially in training and competing in various sports and bring glory to the country such as the Viet Nam National Women’s Football Team, the women's Sepak Takraw Gold Medal at ASIAD 15 and the women’s Rowing team at ASIAD 2018, the notable swimmer Nguyen Thi Anh Vien, athletic players Vu Thi Huong, Nguyen Tu Chinh, Quach Thi Lan, and Nguyen Thi Oanh. 12 Out of 16 Vietnamese athletes qualified for the Paris 2024 Olympics are female.
The empowerment of women has also gained more attention. Before 2010, sports agencies had only about 10% female staff, but now this has increased to 30-40% in some related units. Specific data from National Sports Training Center as follows: Female participation in leadership includes one of five in the Party Committee (20%) and four of 10 in key leadership positions (40%). Three of seven members (43%) in the Trade Union Executive Committee are women.
Up to now, with the efforts of authorities and sector leaders, gender inequality in sports has been partially eliminated. Public interest in female athletes has increased significantly after the major successes of these athletes.
In recent years, in addition to policies on salaries and benefits, the sports sector has developed many plans to promote the socialization and media support for female athletes to ensure they receive income commensurate with their contributions. This helps eliminate gender inequality in sports and enables female athletes to focus on training.
The participation of women in grassroots sports has greatly contributed to the overall development of mass sports in Viet Nam. Women today better understand the importance of sports for health and are organizing their time effectively to participate in training.
Businesses and social organizations are also engaging with various sponsorship programs and creating post-retirement job opportunities for female athletes. These well-structured and stable programs contribute to making sports a key factor in achieving comprehensive gender equality.
CTV