VietNamNet Bridge – The income gap between men and women in Vietnam is on the rise, although the rate of women working is still high compared to global levels.

Around 72% of Vietnamese women are working and this rate is higher than in several other nations around the world, the International Labor Organization (ILO) said in a statement.

However, Vietnam is among the few countries that have a widening gap in salaries between the genders, going against the global pattern in 2008-2011 compared to 1999-2007.

The Global Salary Report 2012-2013 of ILO shows that the gender income gap of Vietnam has surged 2% in recent years. Meanwhile, the 2011 statistics of the General Statistics Office indicate that incomes of women are lower than those of men by 13%.

A survey of workers’ incomes among local companies conducted by the Vietnam General Federation of Labor also shows that salaries of female workers only account for 70-80% of incomes of male colleagues.

Tim De Meyer, a senior expert of ILO in Asia Pacific, said: “The rising gender income difference unveils a worrisome tendency even though it is difficult to get exact figures of salaries and incomes in Vietnam due to the incomplete data collection and surveys at home.”

A labor investigation report made in 2012 says that the monthly average income of women is lower than that of men in State and private economic sectors and foreign investment sector. Even women in the industries of healthcare services, social activities and sales are subject to lower salaries than their male colleagues.

Source: SGT