Hanoi (VNA) – A new study has confirmed theimportant roles and significant contributions of female deputies to the NationalAssembly and People’s Councils during the 2016-2021 term, and called on votersto select competent and qualified candidates, regardless of their gender.

The study’s findings were shared and discussed on May19 at a virtual thematic discussion, jointly convened by the University ofSocial Sciences and Humanities (USSH - Vietnam National University in Hanoi),the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Vietnam, and other partners.

The study was funded by the Australian Government’sDepartment for Foreign Affairs and Trade (DFAT), the Irish Embassy and UNDP inVietnam, through the Provincial Governance and Public AdministrationPerformance Index (PAPI) research framework.

It provides empirical evidence of how female deputies of the NA and provincial People’s Councils have contributed to the socio-economical and political development of the country over the past fiveyears.

The study was conducted with 248 deputies to the 14thNA (or 50 percent) and 136 provincial People’s Council deputies of Hanoi, BinhPhuoc province and Can Tho city.

Based on qualitative and quantitative research data,the research suggests policy responses and actions to promote gender equity in people-elected bodies in Vietnam during the 2021-2026 period and towards 2030.

During the 2016-2021 term, the NA had its first femalechairperson and female delegates accounted for 26.8 percent. Women took up 26.7percent of seats in the provincial People’s Councils during this term, as aresult of the 2016 elections.

The study, “Roles, Performance and Contributions ofVietnamese Women Representatives During the 2016-2021 Period”, shows that given that their areas of focuses and strengths are different, both male and female elected representatives noted that the interest of voters in theirconstituencies is the most important factor influencing their views of aspecific issue.

Women deputies more frequently engage with voters viasocial networking applications than men representatives. Both of them were confident that they had promptly responded to voters’ proposals andpetitions. They noted that their top strength was in performing the legislativemandate. In the meantime, interviewed provincial People’s Council deputies, menand women alike, considered that oversight performance is the top strength.

In terms of values, both surveyed men and womenrepresentatives from the National Assembly and provincial People’s Councilsvalued the merits of ‘listening’, ‘having personal viewpoints’ and ‘having theability to persuade others’. Women representatives tend to value the merit of‘having the ability to persuade others’ than their men counterparts.

“Women’s leadership in public sector is an importantissue as it is essential to have women’s perspectives and voices involved inthe decision-making process. Public policies should fully capture theperspectives of both men and women to ensure equity and fairness,” reiterated ElisaCavacece, Deputy Head of Mission, the Embassy of Ireland upon the studyfindings.

The study recommends accelerating implementation of ResolutionNo. 26-NQ/TW adopted at the 7th plenum of the 12th Party Central Committeewhich put it that by 2030: “There must be women representatives in the StandingCommittee of the Party at provincial level and Party committees at all levels:the proportion of women representatives at all levels should be between 20 and25 percent. The rates of women representatives in the National Assembly andPeople’s Councils should be over 35percent”.

To do so, the report suggests having at least 45 percentof candidates of either gender enlisted as candidates for the NA and People’sCouncils, building on the current momentum of having 45.28 percent ofcandidates for the 15th NA.

The study also recommends creating favorableconditions for elected representatives to proactively engage with voters viaall channels, especially social networking channels.

In addition, it suggests that elected women and men deputiesparticipate in all fields by introducing gender quotes for all NA and allPeople’s Councils committees./.