Women entrepreneurs become inspiration for business community

Being present for the young entrepreneur generation, we have the desire to connect with each other to improve the position of the Vietnamese entrepreneur community to world-class level. When I was young, I listened to the discussion between my parents and other entrepreneurs about their preoccupation to take the Vietnam brand across the globe.

If each entrepreneur thinks and acts for this general target instead of private targets, we will establish a closed link network in the entrepreneur community. Our generation grew up in the era of social networks, and we are used to the mindset that we are not individual successful entrepreneurs, and want to build a successful community.

Like many other entrepreneurs, I pursue the philosophy of living to the fullest, optimising all our wisdom and resources, and doing the best things for myself, my family, my business, and society, whether it is for health or money.

Alongside the job, I want to spread positivity to society. I am also the initiator and operator of the Alphanam Green Foundation, which promotes initiatives for environmental protection and social development, towards building greener, cleaner, and more beautiful cities.

I also established the VietSeeds Foundation, aiming to support Vietnamese students to approach higher education, and I am a member of the patronage council of the Fund to Support Community Development and Sustainable Living.

All female entrepreneurs, through their successful business stories and social activities, play pioneering roles in changing the awareness of gender equality in businesses, especially in small- and medium-sized enterprises.

Workplace gender equality (WGE) is still a relatively new concept for Vietnamese enterprises. We are assisting other organisations in educating themselves with WGE knowledge, assessing the situation, and achieving gender equality by acting and utilising relevant assessments and strategies.

So far, we have been widely recognised as a WGE centre of excellence in Vietnam by both the business community and social organisations. Vietnamese firms, particularly large corporations, are increasingly focused on long-term development goals and WGE-related issues in particular.

In Vietnam, awareness of gender equality in the workplace is still quite low. Some business leaders still believe that it entails having a perfectly balanced workforce in terms of male-female ratio, or preferential practices for women. However, we must recognise that gender equality benefits both genders.

Vietnamese women are just as eager as males to advance and obtain senior management positions, and 84 per cent of people from both genders said they aspire to senior management jobs. This figure is greater in Vietnam than in other surveyed nations in the region.

With the desire to liberate the inner strength of women, we founded the Ho Chi Minh City Association for Women Executives and Entrepreneurs (HAWEE).

Being a social, voluntary, and professional association for businesswomen, HAWEE gathers female executives and entrepreneurs from all business sectors, as well as organisations in the field of manufacturing, trading, and services. The association connects and enhances the power and impact of women by helping them strengthen their leadership and image.

PNJ also cooperates with members of HAWEE to organse meaningful social activities to support disadvantaged women and help them to overcome difficulties.

For a long-term vision, we are expanding the female entrepreneur’s network on the back of the success of the ASEAN Bridge ++ forum in September 2022. The forum’s goal was to promote trade in the region, expand opportunities for multi-directional links, and facilitate trade for businesses to develop the region’s economy through business matching events. It also hopes to promote a green circular economy based on sustainable development.

We have established seven principles to empower women, creating an environment for the female to promote their abilities and explore their inner strengths. Through these principles, we learn, apply, and tailor programmes relating to gender equality to suit the culture and business activities of the company.