Shared experiences

Share of female management in FDI highest among Vietnam economic sectors

March 6, 2021 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – The number of Vietnamese women accounts for half of the labor force but less than one-fourth of overall management roles.

The percentage of women in management in the foreign-direct investment (FDI) sector is a third of the number of people in leadership positions, the highest (34.1%) compared to the 29.7% and the 20.2% in state and domestic spheres, respectively, according to the latest report.

Vietnam’s women account for half of the labor force but less than one-fourth of overall management roles. Photo: ILO

A report “Gender and the labor market in Vietnam” by the International Labor Organization (ILO) in Vietnam shows that there is still a gender gap in labor force participation in the country, especially in management level. Uneven distribution of family responsibilities in Vietnam’s society could be the reason behind.

The elimination of gender gaps in education has not translated into a comparable narrowing of gender gaps in employment quality, earnings, or decision-making jobs. “They are much more likely to involve in household work than men, and spend twice as many hours on it,” said Valentina Barcucci, ILO Vietnam Labor Economist, lead author of the research.

Women spent an average of 20.2 hours per week cleaning the house, washing clothes, cooking and shopping for the family, doing family care and childcare, whereas men spent only 10.7 hours. Close to one fifth of men did not spend any time on these activities at all.

Chart: The portfolio of female management in total employment, by sector, 2019

As a result of the pandemic, total working hours dropped significantly in the second quarter of 2020, and recovered through the second half of the year. Women faced the most severe losses, according to the report.

The total weekly hours worked by women in the second quarter of 2020 were only 88.8% of the total for the fourth quarter of 2019, compared to 91.2% for men.

“Before the Covid-19 pandemic, both women and men had a relatively easy access to jobs, but the quality of such jobs was on average lower among women than among men,” said Valentina Barcucci, ILO Vietnam Labor Economist, lead author of the research.

Female workers were overrepresented in vulnerable employment, particularly in contributing family work. They earned less than men (by 13.7% on monthly wages in 2019), despite comparable working hours and the progressive elimination of gender gaps in educational attainment.

Gender inequality in the labor market is traced back to the traditional roles that women are expected to play, supported by the social norms, said ILO Vietnam Director, Chang-Hee Lee.

The 2019 Labor Code has opened opportunities to close such gender gaps, for example in retirement age or removing the ban on female employment in certain occupations, a much more difficult task still awaits Vietnam.

“That is changing the mind sets of the Vietnamese men and women themselves which will in turn influence their behavior in the labor market,” Chang-Hee Lee said.

Military units conduct combat readiness shifting exercises

March 6, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

* The Engineering Corps has just conducted practice of shifting its affiliated units to various combat readiness levels, aiming to make all units meet task requirements in the current context. Reportedly, all participating units completed their assigned mission as planned with absolute safety during the practice.

* Naval Region 5 completed its combat readiness shifting exercise on March 5. Participating units flexibly and effectively handled numerous situations in the exercise, collaborated smoothly to ensure logistical and technical supplies, gained experience to improve combat readiness, and raised the commanding capabilities of their commanders.

* Meanwhile, the exercises of Division 312 of Army Corps 1 and Division 363 of the Air Defense and Air Force Service consisted of various stages such as shifting the combat readiness from a regular level to higher levels, evacuating forces to safer places, and dealing with unexpected issues.

Reportedly, all relevant forces overcame hardships and prepared facilities to fulfil their assigned missions.

Translated by Trung Thanh

Vietnamese in Macau gather to celebrate Lunar New Year

March 6, 2021 by en.qdnd.vn

Speaking at the event, head of the association Duong Trung Duc reviewed negative effects caused by COVID-19 for Vietnamese in Macau, saying many lost their jobs and others could not return home due to the postponement of commercial flights.

According to him, receiving assistance from the Vietnamese Consulate General in Hong Kong and Macau and recognition of the local administration, the association, established in November last year, has so far operated well and significantly supported Vietnamese expatriates in legal consultations, organization of flights, and unemployment aid, among other aspects.

The gathering aims at reminding the community about their responsibilities for the home country, particularly via building a good image of Vietnamese people overseas and making efforts to overcome obstacles and contribute to Vietnam.

Macau now hosts more than 22,000 from Vietnam or those of the Vietnamese origin. The lion’s share of the number are people working as housemaids or at casinos.

Source: VNA

Vietnamese in U.S. rattled by rising hate crimes against Asians

March 6, 2021 by e.vnexpress.net

Walking their dog after dinner has always been a favorite daily activity of Tho Pham and his wife, a Vietnamese couple who live with their 39-year-old son in Garden Grove City, California.

But not in the last few months as the wave of anti-Asian violence and harassment has terrified him.

“I do not dare go out without my children because I am afraid someone will knock me to the ground or stab me to death just because I am Asian,” he laments, adding that the hate crimes have disrupted his daily life.

Many other Vietnamese share his apprehension, especially older people.

Wally Ng, a member of the Guardian Angels, patrols with other members in Chinatown in New York City, New York, U.S., May 16, 2020. Photo by Reuters.

Violence and hatred directed at Asian Americans, which also includes mugging, have surged across California since the beginning of the Covis-19 pandemic as Asians are blamed for its origin in Wuhan, China.

Videos of an Asian woman being punched in the face on a subway platform and a Thai man being pushed to the ground in San Francisco have sparked fears, and the Vietnamese community is traumatized.

Hoai Nguyen, a housewife in San Jose, home to the largest Vietnamese population in America, says: “It is annoying and scary when you go out and have to keep looking behind your back to see if you are being followed by someone suspicious.”

She has been called “coronavirus” several times while walking and shopping, but she had not expected the discrimination and hatred to turn violent and even murderous.

Last month the Vietnamese community in San Jose was shocked after a 64-year-old woman was robbed in front of Dai Thanh Supermarket during the Lunar New Year holidays.

Nguyen says with a sigh: “I cannot do that (go out) on my own because they may kill me. How weak I am and how cold-hearted those people are.”

Since older people are targeted, no one is comfortable letting their parents or grandparents go out alone though the first month of the lunar new year is typically filled with activities like meeting relatives and going to pagodas.

This year most had a subdued New Year also because of the pandemic.

Hong Nguyen, who is always accompanied by her children on the streets in Oakland these days, says: “It should be a time for celebration, we should meet our families and friends instead of being targeted or attacked.”

Solidarity

The potential threats have brought the Vietnamese diaspora together.

On Facebook groups, they post videos of Asians being assaulted or robbed to warn others about the growing threat in places like California and New York, home to many Vietnamese-Americans.

“Please help if you see anyone being verbally or physically attacked,” one person wrote in a group for people living in West Hills, California.

Some people give a helping hand to elders in their Vietnamese and Asian communities. In Oakland, for instance, there have been community initiatives including patrols by volunteers who escort seniors around the city.

“From our Chinese, Thai and Vietnamese elders to our youth, our Asian-American communities are traumatized, afraid and outraged during a time when we are also experiencing disproportionate impacts of the pandemic,” according to a joint agreement by Asian-American organizations in the Bay Area said, calling for non-police safety measures like volunteer neighborhood patrols.

Hong Nguyen’s sons and daughter, who are in their 20s, have joined many other Asians to protect elders in public places.

“Someone threw rocks at my sister’s house twice last week, and so five of us stand in front of her house in the evenings to see if those thugs come around again,” Hong Nguyen says, adding solidarity is their recourse now.

A 91-year-old Asian man is shoved to the ground from behind by a suspect in Chinatown in Oakland, California, January 31, 2021. Photo courtesy of Reutters.

Some people have taken a further step, gun ownership.

“I decided to buy a handgun this spring after seeing a series of mugging of Asians,” Nguyen Duc Phuc, 45, says. Owning a gun gives him and his wife peace of mind amid the senseless violence, he says.

“When I was in line waiting to buy the gun, two white guys called me ‘chin*’ and made fun of me because I wore a mask.”

The New York Times quoted David Liu, owner of Arcadia Firearm and Safety in the predominantly Asian city of Arcadia in California, as saying there is an uptick in Asian-Americans buying firearms though admittedly interest has been skyrocketing among “basically everybody.”

In a survey by the National Shooting Sports Foundation last year gun retailers estimated there was a nearly 43 percent increase in sales to Asian customers in the first half of 2020, the Times added.

But people like Pham, Phuc and Nguyen know that violence is never the correct response to violence.

On February 26 senior officials of the U.S. Justice Department claimed that the recent surge in violence and hate incidents against Asian-Americans is unacceptable, and promised to investigate those cases and other hate crimes.

These “horrific attacks on Asian-Americans across the country” have “no place in our society,” Deputy Attorney General John Carlin said while speaking about domestic terrorism, adding that the Justice Department is “committed to putting a stop to it.”

Agents and prosecutors at the department would “look at recent footage from New York and California to see those horrific attacks directed at Asian Americans, to realize how dire the threats are,” he said.

But in the meantime, Pham knows he needs his children with him if he wants to venture outside home.

“I just want to feel safe and not fear for my life when going out without disturbing my children.”

New regulation on minimum trading lot at HOSE aims to keep small investors away

March 6, 2021 by vietnamnet.vn

Around $200 billion is now in tumult after a succession of days of network congestion and the news about the required increase in minimum trading lot from 100 to 1,000 shares on the HCM City stock market.

New regulation on minimum trading lot at HOSE aims to keep small investors away

Nguyen Giang, owner of The Way Coffee, completed the procedure to open an account at SSI Hanoi Branch after hearing that the HCM CIty Stock Exchange (HOSE) was planning to increase the required minimum trading lot from 100 shares to 1,000 shares.

The reason behind the plan, as explained by Le Hai Tra, HOSE’s CEO, was to ease the overload.

However, this was not good news for many investors, including Giang. Because of Covid-19, he no longer can work as an outbound tour guide, which he did for 10 years.

In 2020, he opened a street coffee shop. However, the third Covid-19 outbreak once again affected his business. Giang then decided to make financial investments as he has confidence in the bright prospects of the stock market.

However, the calculations of the investor may fail because of HOSE’s tentative policy.

If the tentative policy takes effect, Giang will have to spend VND100 million at least for every purchase transaction of VIC (Vingroup), VJC (Vietjet), VCB (Vietcombank) and VNM (Vinamilk).

If buying SAB (Sabeco), he would have to spend VND180 million at least, and ifor VCF (Vinacafe Bien Hoa), he would have to spend VND240 million.

These are very large amounts of money compared with Giang’s investment plan.

However, Tra said the policy, once applied, would bring benefits. It would not only help ease congestion thanks to the reduction of 40-50 percent in number of transactions, but would also better protect small investors.

Nguyen Duy Hung, president of SSI, also commented that this is the best choice for now to maintain the system’s operation.

However, many experts and securities companies don’t share the same view. They have warned that the policy isn’t in line with stock market development and discriminates against small and big investors.

“The plan is unreasonable. It will affect many private investors and be contrary to international practice,” the brokerage director of a HCM City-based securities company said.

The decision to raise the required minimum trading lot from 10 shares to 100 shares in the past once put difficulties for many investors as they could not sell shares. However, the decision was still acceptable because every transaction had value of between several millions of dong to tens of millions of dong only.

But this will be diiferent if the minimum trading lot is raised to 1,000 shares.

V. Ha

Vietnam ready for its first vaccination program on March 8

March 6, 2021 by hanoitimes.vn

The Hanoitimes – The MoH is working with the COVAX to arrange for another shipment of 1.3 million doses to arrive at Vietnam in March.

The Ministry of Health (MoH) would mobilize all resources to carry out Vietnam’s largest vaccination program yet with an estimated of 100 million doses.

Local volunteer vaccinated with domestic Covid-19 vaccine named Nanocovax in Hanoi. Photo: Ngoc Tu

Minister of Health Nguyen Thanh Long made the statement at an online conference discussing plan for the nationwide Covid-19 vaccination program held today [March 6].

“With the country’s first Covid-19 vaccine doses set to be administered on March 8 in the northern province of Hai Duong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City, there would no doubt be side effects, but this is not the reason for Vietnam to stop the vaccination program,” stated Long.

According to Long, Covid-19 vaccines are developed and manufactured in the shortest time in the history of vaccine development, so the effective period of vaccines varies from six months to two years.

“In addition to importing vaccines, Vietnam would accelerate the R&D processes for domestic Covid-19 vaccines to ensure long-term public health security,” Long added.

The minister suggested any post-vaccination side effects is possible, as not any vaccine can be 100% safe.

“As the vaccine is new, so the vaccination program will be carried out in a cautious manner,” added Long, saying local health authorities have evaluated the safety of vaccines in Vietnam.

With the limited amount of vaccine doses, Long said the MoH would prioritize vaccination for 13 cities and provinces of high risk.

“The MoH is working with the COVAX to arrange for another shipment of 1.3 million doses to arrive at Vietnam in March,” he informed.

Vaccine passport

Under the government resolution NO.21 on the 11 priority groups, Long said the first doses of Covid-19 vaccines would be allocated for health workers at 21 health facilities with the highest level of risks, followed by front-line workers of the Covid-19 fight in Hai Duong, Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City.

One of a key point in Vietnam’s vaccination program is that health officials would carry out health check-up for locals before vaccination to ensure safety.

Every people getting vaccinated will be added into a database for supervision.

“Vietnam’s vaccination system would later be integrated with other countries, which would serve as a basis for vaccine passport, and is managed via QR code,” Long noted.

Last month, Vietnam received more than 204,000 doses of Covid-19 vaccine from AstraZeneca as part the WHO-led COVAX Facility vaccine-sharing scheme.

Vietnam has been negotiating with AstraZeneca to import 30 million doses for 2021 and another 33 million doses from COVAX.

According to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention, there are possible side effects after getting a Covid-19 vaccine including: pain, redness, swelling, tiredness, headache, muscle pain, chills, fever and nausea.