Using digital technology to help women balance business development and unpaid care

On the afternoon of November 22, the Center for Women and Development (under the Vietnam Women's Union) in collaboration with The Asia Foundation (TAF) organized a seminar on "Improving digital skills for women: Balancing business development and care work" in Hanoi .

This program is part of the project "Grow My Business: Capacity Building and Support for the Development of Women-Led Small, Micro and Growing Enterprises in Vietnam" by the Center for Women and Development with funding from The Asia Foundation, a collaboration of microfinance institutions to enhance economic opportunities for women entrepreneurs in Vietnam by improving digital and financial skills.

Ms. Duong Thi Ngoc Linh, Director of the Center for Women and Development, said: Women account for half of the population, so digital transformation will only be truly successful when women actively participate in all pillars of digital transformation, namely digital government , digital economy and digital society, and they need to enjoy the benefits brought by digital transformation. Women's equal participation in the digital transformation process is not only for the purpose of gender equality but also brings economic benefits and efficiency to digital transformation when this process has the perspectives and experiences of all target groups in society.

Delegates and guests took souvenir photos on the sidelines of the Dialogue

Sharing the purpose of the Forum, Mr. Filip Graovac, Deputy Chief Representative of The Asia Foundation in Vietnam, said: "Today's Forum not only focuses on how to promote business development but also addresses the key challenges that unpaid care work poses to women entrepreneurs to realize their full potential." Unpaid care work includes childcare, elder care and household chores. This remains a heavy burden for Vietnamese women, especially those running small businesses.

At the Seminar, The Asia Foundation also announced key findings from the "Initial Study on the Role of Digital Technology in Unpaid Care Work of Women Entrepreneurs", through online and in-person interviews with 664 women, including female owners of small and micro enterprises, who are also clients of 3 microfinance organizations participating in the project: Tinh Thuong Microfinance Organization (TYM), Thanh Hoa Microfinance and the Fund to Support Low-Income Households for Economic Development (VietED)...

It shows that women-owned businesses account for 30% of the total 900,000 operating businesses; Women-owned production and business households account for more than 50% of business households. In particular, the pressure of housework is the biggest problem for women entrepreneurs. Therefore, digital technology solutions are increasingly applied, helping to support women's business initiatives, reducing the pressure of unpaid care for women entrepreneurs. Of which, Facebook-based businesses account for 95%, Zalo accounts for 42%, Tiktok accounts for 46); 35% have community pages, personal business Facebook. Most women choose to do business online to be proactive in work & life: "freedom", "mastery", "flexibility"...

Delegates and representatives of female small and medium business owners, members/customers of the Microfinance Organization Tinh Thuong - TYM attended the Dialogue.

At the Seminar, the speakers discussed the topic "Improving digital skills for women: Balancing business development and care work". In which, they shared and exchanged experiences on promoting harmony between business and family responsibilities of women. In particular, they discussed the impacts of digital economy and digital technology on balancing care responsibilities to have appropriate solutions/recommendations, promoting gender equality for women in the economic and social fields.

In particular, at this Seminar, 30 women who are business owners/business establishments and have completed the training program of the Project "Grow My Business" were awarded business development support prizes. In addition to completing the training program, they have applied the knowledge to their own businesses/business models in an effective, practical and sustainable way.

Source: https://phunuvietnam.vn/ung-dung-cong-nghe-so-giup-phu-nu-can-balance-phat-trien-kinh-doanh-va-viec-cham-soc-khong-luong-2024112215555254.htm