A Debate: Women in Leadership and the Glass Ceiling
On March 29, 2013 the Tri Viet Institute for
International Studies and Exchange held a debate on “Women
in Leadership and the Glass Ceiling” in Auditorium A at Ton
Duc Thang University.
Participants included the Ton Duc Thang
University Board, its faculty, researchers, and students as well as academic
educators, social activists, business leaders and journalists from surrounding
communities. All attendees engaged in actively discussing the issues. Students
especially had ample opportunities to listen to the role models of successful
women sharing their view on women’s empowerment and discrete actions that can
be taken to advance women in leadership.
Ms. Ton Nu Thi Ninh, President of the Tri Viet Institute, chaired the debate
and joined six reputable panelists for debate. The talk was organized into two
parts: the first part consisted of exchange of ideas with business leaders and
the second part was interacting with the audience.
The first part discussed was the limited number of women in leadership in both public and private sectors where the legal framework to facilitate the development of gender equality (GE) has led to the point where women reach "the glass ceiling" when attempting to climb up the management ladder. The term "the glass ceiling" describes invisible barriers preventing women from achieving extraordinary success that is equal to that of men. An attempt was made in the debate to clarify the cause and effect of "the glass ceiling" and proposed workable recommendations for the private sector and government to promote the role of women in leadership.
After welcoming remarks by Prof. Thai Huu Tuan, Vice President of Ton Duc Thang
University, Ms. Dinh Thi Bach Mai, President of the Women's Union of Ho Chi
Minh City (HCMC), remarked that women’s issues and their political rights are
very important and always new, however, it is not easy because Vietnam society
still faces a male-centric ideology. The Vietnam Women's Union, with the
assistance of financial expertise and international organizations, has
conducted many advocacy activities to strengthen the political leadership of
women. Particularly in HCMC in recent years, there has been some improvement on
the proportion of women in leadership, however, there have been increasing
problems as these women achieved higher positions. It was suggested during the
debate that the HCMC Women’s Union should focus on training the female
workforce in the long run.
Ms. Victoria Kwakwa, World Bank Country Director in Vietnam, emphasized the
progress of gender equality in Vietnam. Although women are as equally talented
as men, the proportion of women in leadership is low at only 25% of female
business leaders. The number of women in political leadership is also low.
Among 22 ministers only two are female ministers. Ms. Kwakwa stressed that
there should be adjustment and rectification of the current scarcity of women
leaders and there should be positive remedies to break the glass ceiling.
Ms. Ton Nu Thi Ninh suggested that Vietnam has faced a paradox since early on.
We had policies and laws on gender equality, however, these seemed not to be
realistic and at risk of lagging behind reality. Regarding a retirement policy,
she proposed that Vietnam should remove illogical women-related regulations
regarding the difference in retirement age and professional training planning
and promotion between men and women. It is feasible and practical within
circumstances where there are differences between the male and female
retirement age.
In addition to the first part of the debate,
the six panelists insightfully discussed the nature and causes of the glass
ceiling that has prohibited women from going up the ladder to achieve the
highest position. The six panelists included:
·
Ms. Nguyen Thi Hanh, CEO of the Saigon Coop;
·
Ms. Vu Kim Hanh, President of the Quality Viet Goods
Association;
·
Ms. Dang Thi Minh Phuong, CEO of Minh Phuong Company Logistics
Co.and Chairperson of the CEO Club;
·
Ms. Ha Thu Thanh, CEO of Deloitte Vietnam;
·
Ms. Donna Hamlin, CEO of Intrabond Capital, Advisory Specialist;
·
Ms. Vo Thi Hoang Yen, Founder & Director of Disabilities
Resource & Development.
Based on their different positions and areas
of activities, the panelists agreed that there have been many intangible and
tangible barriers for women in leadership such as preconceptions about the dual
roles of women and the burden of responsibility for the family, especially for
parenting and child care.
Ms. Hanh commented that 60% of the Saigon
Coop employees are women. Maternity leave and raising children in a scarcity of
trustworthy kindergartens affect the route to promotion of female leaders. Many
women have to apply for unpaid leave to care for their children.
Ms. Yen shared that because of stereotypes,
men do not view women as leaders but as “only women”. The scarcity of women in
leadership has made it difficult for younger women to find mentors so that they
are unable to learn from the experience of their preceding mentors.
Ms. Minh Phuong pointed out that we are
disadvantaged as women. Generally, women are tied up with the obligation of
taking care of their husbands, children and housework. They are not
sufficiently confident, sometimes strongly denied an opportunity to be leaders,
and step aside for their husband’s advancement. Some women frankly did say that
they do not want to have a higher position than their husbands.
The women working for the multinational environment, such as Ms. Thanh and Ms. Hamlin, obtained favorable conditions to be recognized as leaders with ability and without sex discrimination. A company with a balance between male and female leaders often works well. If women have the ability to become prestigious, it will bring huge benefits to both the company and the country. A totally qualified female will make a difference to society and create a great impact.
Regarding state policy, while the proportion of women in leadership is still
low the necessity for raising the level of participation of female leaders and
for society to strive for that goal still exits as long as it is applied in an
intelligent manner. Ms. Kim Hanh emphasized the quality of women's true
leadership and that we should not uplift women to higher positions if they are
incompetent. We need to provide professional training prior to their input into
the social structure; we need to create favorable conditions for women to put
their leadership skills into practice. Concurrently, we demand that women
strive for their best. Along with state policy and the support of family, every
woman has to make endless efforts to improve their capacity and confidence,
know how to organize family life, and manage their time and schedules in order
to wholeheartedly focus on their work.
The second part of the debate was interaction
between panelists and participants. Quite a number of male attendees in the
auditorium directed questions to the speakers to learn more about the policies
of the institutions, organizations, and companies as well as the advantages of
women in some professions. Some representatives such as Mr. Truong Quang Hong,
and Mr. Pham Bao Tran said that retiring women at age 55 is not reasonable
because that is the age when women are most resourceful and experienced in
knowledge, skills, research and management. Gender stereotypes exist in society
and in men. To remove the glass ceiling, it is crucial to attract men into
courses on the process of gender equality in order to change their perception
and attitude, and to gain better cooperation with women.
One male
illustrated very specific evidence of discrimination against women using feudal
ideology. A common example is that at the elementary level students are taught
about the role models of Ba Trung, Ba Trieu who led the people against
foreign invaders; however, at higher levels of education women are excluded and
completly replaced by male leaders. During the time of election, voters tend to
undermine the female candidates and women are often battered by their husbands.
According to Mr. Hong, the glass ceiling exists because the mentality of many
people is such that men are still at a higher level of esteem than women.
In addition, there should be a policy for men to take maternity leave when
their wives give birth in order to share child care. However, not all men agree
because some argue that they do not know how to do housework or that they are
not trained to do housework. That is a prejudicial thought because there are
men who excel at caring for their children and helping out their wives during
childbirth. As Ms. Hamlin commented, we should not maintain fixed roles for
women and men within a rigid system. We can change for a more equal
relationship between men and women.
A few comments: The workshop appeared to raise awareness for a number of people
on the advancement of social status for women. According to Ms. Hamlin, this
kind of discussion takes place in many parts of the world. Breaking the glass
ceiling should be carried out on a long-term basis and it will take much
effort. During the workshop some attendees claimed that women are the main
barriers to their own advancement because they draw back in favor of men,
because they lack the will to strive and to place family over career. These
views may cause confusion and may not help us to clearly see the root causes of
the glass ceiling. The root cause is the long-standing existence of a
male-dominated society where women are held at a disadvantage and are
considered inferior to men. Both society and men teach women perspectives of
inequality and consequently women accept this status of inferiority. In spite
of having these views, women are not the cause of the glass ceiling. However,
in order to overcome challenges and escape from continued inequality, the women
of today need to be aware that they must take action in order to change their
fate; the endless efforts of women are critically vital. Yet there are
continuing changes of perceptions and actions by men as well as various
interventions at the state level to move development of gender equality
policies and plans forward for real life.
Thai Thi Ngoc Du
Translated into English by
Doan Thi Ngoc
