Vietnam and Australia today jointly introduced a pioneering initiative to promote gender equality in public leadership with the pilot Phase of the Gender Equality in the Public Sector Index. The Index was officially unveiled at a high-level workshop on 6 June 2025 hosted by the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics (HCMA) in collaboration with the Vietnam Women’s Union, supported by the Australian Government through the Vietnam Australia Centre (VAC).
The initiative builds upon a 2020 research project jointly conducted by the Centre for Gender Studies and Women’s Leadership (GeLEAD), now known as GWR – the Centre for Gender and Women’s Rights’ Studies under HCMA and the University of New South Wales. The research project recommended the development of a Gender Equality Index to measure all steps in the employment pyramid from recruitment, leadership pipeline, training, rotation, assessment, and appointments.
Dr Luong Thu Hien, Director of the Center for Gender Studies and Women’s Rights (GWR), Deputy Director of the Institute for Human Rights, Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics, introduces the Gender Equality in the Public Sector Index.
GWR and the University of Technology Sydney, with support from the Australian Government, through the VAC, has now collaboratively developed the Gender Equality in the Public Sector Index. The index provides a comprehensive framework for assessing women’s participation and leadership in Vietnam’s public sector, while identifying barriers and opportunities for reform.
The workshop brought together approximately 200 participants, including Party and government officials, socio-political organisations, policymakers, and representatives from international organisations.
Speaking at the event, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam, Her Excellency Gillian Bird PSM emphasised the importance of the new Index: “The Australia Government is very proud to support this collaboration between HCMA and Australian Institutions. This work exemplifies Australia and Vietnam’s strong focus on gender equality and commitment to improving women’s representation in leadership positions, promoting women’s economic empowerment, and addressing other gender-related challenges as underscored in our Comprehensive Strategic Partnership. The Index can be seen as the starting point for greater transparency and accountability regarding Vietnam’s commitment to Women’s leadership and gender equality and a critical step to Vietnam achieving its ambitious economic goals.”
Assoc. Prof. Duong Trung Y, HCMA Vice President affirmed: “This index is a breakthrough tool to help clearly identify barriers and promote gender equality in personnel work, thereby contributing to building an increasingly strong female leadership team in the political system, contributing to implementing the Party’s guidelines and policies, the State’s policies and laws on gender equality. The Academy is committed to incorporating the research results and the index into training programs for cadres and research to promote substantive gender equality in the public sector.”
Assoc Prof Duong Trung Y, HCMA Vice President and Her Excellency Gillian Bird PSM, Australian Ambassador to Vietnam
Ms Nguyen Thi Thu Hien, Vice President of Vietnam Women’s Union, said: “The Index consists of 10 main indicators and 21 sub-indicators, allowing measurement of gender equality results in agencies at all levels in the political system, clearly identifying individuals who are responsible for implementing gender equality in the public sector. It focuses on providing performance-based rewards and disciplinary actions, which demonstrates many advantages and high feasibility, expected to make important contributions to promoting transparency and accountability and becomes a tool to support the Party and State in realising targets on female cadre development activities.”
According to the undertaken research, the representation of women in senior and middle management positions is low. Despite Vietnam’s strong legal and policy frameworks for gender equality, challenges in implementation of gender equality policies still remain, such as a lack of human resources, time and finances, a lack of strong and drastic inspection and monitoring mechanisms, as well as a low rate of officials and civil servants trained in unconscious bias, gender stereotypes, and gender-sensitive recruitment.
“This Index is a tool for advancing our agenda for positive change. It enables Vietnamese public sector institutions to identify gender gaps and determine what can be done to ensure that policies are effectively implemented. It provides the evidence needed to support the development of gender-responsive institutions,” said Dr Lương Thu Hiền, Director of GWR at HCMA.
Mr Le Khanh Luong, Director General of the Department of Gender Equality and Youth at the Ministry of Home Affairs, presents Vietnam’s progress in advancing gender equality in public sector.
Ms Cathy McWilliam, First Secretary at the Australian Embassy in Vietnam, shares Australia’s experiences in gender equality policy and diplomacy.
Prof. Susan Harris Rimmer, Griffith University Gender policy expert, Research team leader in phase 2, presents Australia’s experience in building an index for gender equality in the public sector.
Panel discussion on challenges and opportunities related to gender equality in the public sector and the way forward
A workshop guest engages in discussion Q&A.
The initiative will continue with a Pilot Phase, jointly conducted by Griffith University and GWR, to refine the methodology, pilot the Index with three central agencies and one provincial city, and expand data collection efforts.
The VAC serves as a dynamic platform for public sector training, research, and knowledge exchange between the two countries. It brings together experts from Vietnam and Australia to support the development of future Vietnamese leaders, including women in leadership, and address national, regional, and global challenges.
