Gender gap at alarming rate
(VOV) - The disparity in Vietnam’s gender ratio at birth has not narrowed since 2009 and officially reached 112 boys to every 100 girls in 2012.
The figures were released at a seminar on the gender gap, elderly care, and domestic violence prevention jointly held in Danang city on December 3 by the Vietnam Farmers’ Association, the United Nations Population Fund (UNFPA), and the Vietnam Women’s Union.
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Participants raised concerns regarding the widening gender gap at birth, especially exaggerated in high income earner demographic.
Vietnam aims to lower the gender gap at birth to 115/100 by 2020 and 105/100 by 2030. Yet experts warn the ratio may climb as high as 125/100 over the next two decades unless effective measures to address the issue are intensified.
The increasing disparity means more than 2.3 million Vietnamese men could be left unmarried by 2050 as the result of sex discrimination at birth.
Delegates were worried that Vietnam is approaching the demographic patterns of an aging population. The average life expectancy has improved remarkably, hitting 73 in 2011. More than 70 percent of the elderly continue to work to augment the support of their children and relatives.
Discussions also touched upon domestic violence, an escalating problem in many families.