GENDER EQUALITY AND SOCIAL INCLUSION TRAINING FOR USAID TRADE FACILITATION PROGRAM

The program worked with the General Department of Vietnam Customs to strengthen Vietnam's National Trade Facilitation Committee and Working Groups, streamline border clearance procedures, and train national and provincial customs officials and staff from other ministries. The promotion of gender equality at key government agencies was an integral part of USAID's work towards a prosperous and secure Vietnam. The program annually organized a training on Gender and Social Inclusion to build capacity of gender and gender equality in trade facilitation for USAID Trade Facilitation Program personnel and key counterparts at the General Department of Vietnam Customs. The training course for Vietnam Customs was delivered on September 21st, 2021, in the form of virtual training due to the social distancing policy during the widespread of the new Covid-19 wave. The training was divided into two sessions, with 50 customs officials participating in each session. The training was presented with the leaders of Vietnam Customs School and combined with the school's regular general knowledge induction training course. The training course for USAID TFP staff was delivered on December 17th, 2021, in the form of hybrid training with the presence of 21 staff, in which 16 attended in-person and 5 others attended virtually via Zoom platform. The training was divided into two parts, with the morning session focusing on gender and social inclusion knowledge and the afternoon session presenting gender activity results and recommendations for action reported in the Mid-Term Review. Prior to the training, a training need assessment (TNA) was carried out to get an understanding about the gender-sensitive knowledge and expectations of the customs officials. The TNA collected 41 respondents, with 25 men and 16 women, and found that few people had learned about social inclusion, diversity, and intersectionality, gender-based violence, gender stereotype, gender integration, women's economic empowerment, and gender and trade customs. The TNA also found that around 1/3 of the respondents had not yet applied or reflected any gender-related knowledge into their lives or work. The training objectives were to understand and recognize gender issues, including harmful practices in daily lives and work that hamper opportunities for both women, men, and others, including the most disadvantaged groups in society. By the end of the training, participants were expected to appreciate measures of gender mainstreaming/integration, recognize the importance of gender equality and equity, and understand how to apply gender knowledge in their work. The training package included a consolidation of the pre-training need assessment results, well-designed training content outline/agenda, and training materials tailored for customs and all-staff. The training also included an analysis of the learning results and training's effectiveness, a consultant report containing the training syllabus, and recommendations for the program's opportunities to support women's economic empowerment and gender equality in trade facilitation in Vietnam and how to improve future trainings. The training results showed that participants gained a better understanding of gender issues, including harmful practices in daily lives and work that hamper opportunities for both women, men, and others. The training also helped participants appreciate measures of gender mainstreaming/integration, recognize the importance of gender equality and equity, and understand how to apply gender knowledge in their work. The training was successful in improving participants' understanding of gender-related issues in the workplace, and it provided a "refresher" on key gender issues relevant to the program.