The Voluntary Partnership Agreement on Forest Law Enforcement, Governance and Trade (VPA-FLEGT for short) between Vietnam and the European Union (EU) was signed on October 19, 2018, officially took effect from June 1, 2019 shows the great determination of the Vietnamese government in implementing forest governance as well as developing the wood processing industry in a sustainable way[1]. During implementation, the impacts of VPA-FLEGT on the livelihoods and safety of women and other social groups should be closely monitored. To monitor social impact, relevant indicators need to be gender-disaggregated, and sex-disaggregated data should be systematically collected and analyzed. Although gender is not specifically mentioned in the VPA, several key indicators in the Vietnam Timber Legality Definition have a built-in gender dimension, reflecting the way in which gender is now mainstreamed into many related areas of law and regulation, including indicators on land and forest use rights, and the labor code and social welfare rights (Annex II of the VPA). Gender issues in the EU-Vietnam Free Trade Agreement (EVFTA), which took effect from August 1, 2020, include commitments related to trade-related sustainable development issues including 17 articles (labor, environment...). More specifically, regarding labor performance of obligations to which Vietnam and the EU have committed as Members of the International Labor Organization (ILO) and labor standards in the 1998 ILO Declaration on Fundamental principles and rights in the workplace, including: The right to freedom of association and collective bargaining of employees and employers; elimination of all forms of forced or compulsory labor; effective abolition of child labor; and; elimination of discrimination in respect of employment and occupation.
In addition, the "Strategy for development of Vietnam's forestry industry for the period of 2021-2030, with a vision to 2050", Vietnam aims to build the forestry industry into a specific economic-technical industry, in that ensures the broad and equal participation of all economic sectors, social organizations and communities in forestry activities. The “National Strategy on Gender Equality for the 2021-2030 period” sets specific goals in the economic and labor fields (Goal 2) such as increasing the ratio of female wage employees to 50% by 2025 and about 60% by 2030 (Target 1), Reduce the ratio of female employees working in the agricultural sector in the total number of female employees with employment to less than 30% by 2025 and less than 25% by 2030 (Target 2), The ratio of female directors/owners of businesses and cooperatives will reach at least 27% by 2025 and 30% by 2030 (Target 3). Gender issues are also mentioned in other legal documents related to this study such as: Law on Gender Equality (2006) in Articles 4 and 6, Labor Code (2019), Law on Social Insurance Association (2014), Law on Occupational Safety and Hygiene (2015), Law on Vocational Education (2014).
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