Vietnamese women play an important role in socio-economic development, Deputy Secretary of the Hanoi Party Committee Ngo Thi Thanh Hang said.

The official made the remarks at a forum of mayors on May 11, which took place within the framework of the ongoing Global Summit of Women in Tokyo, Japan.

As the country’s political and administrative centre, Hanoi has exerted great efforts to promote gender equality, resulting in the noted rate of female labourers at 60.9 percent who engage in almost all sectors, she said.

Hang stressed that Vietnam has been regarded as the pioneer in removing gender gap over the past two decades.

However, she said, gender discrimination in the economic sector still remains, leading to the gap of income between men and women.

Other challenges facing the country include high rate of untrained female labourers and insufficient attention to gender index in all aspects, the official added.

To promote women’s social role, Hanoi has encouraged them to participate in management and leadership posts and made its best to narrow gender gap in economic and employment fields, raise the quality of female labourers, ensure gender equality in healthcare access and improve State management in this regard.

At the forum, Tokyo’s Governor Yuriko Koike highlighted the role and contributions of women in the modern world, urging them to be active, dynamic and confident.

Sharing her own success story, Koike said the resolve and knowledge are the key to achieving objectives of her career.

The Global Summit of Women takes place from May 11-13, bringing together more than 1,300 delegates from 60 countries worldwide.