PHNOM PENH: The Minister of Labor and Vocational Training, Ith Sam Heng, has stated that about 61% of women in Cambodia are business owners and business people, a very high rate for the country.
He said that the development of small and medium enterprises (SMEs) has now become a staple source of long-term economic development and job creation.
The potential point of making an ecosystem for the development of an environmentally friendly and sustainable business sector is to consider and ensure that in the means and measures to support SMEs, women entrepreneurs are ensured to have the opportunity not only to recover in business, but to also develop resilience, enter the digital age and respond to the Fourth Industrial Revolution.
Speaking at a talk organized over video conference (ZOOM) on Monday, 28 February, with female civil servants of the Ministry of Labor and Vocational Training to celebrate the 111st anniversary of International Women's Day on 8 March 2022 under the theme "Gender Equality Today for Sustainability in the Future,” the Minister of Labor stated that research shows the Covid-19 pandemic has had a negative impact on women more than men, in both economic and social sectors.
Women in developing countries have been identified to be particularly vulnerable and severely affected by the pandemic, as most women work in the service sector and the informal economy. In this context, the Royal Government of Cambodia has introduced measures that respond to and directly benefit women and vulnerable groups, especially through social protection policies, the introduction of social assistance interventions, capital increase, and “cash flow” to help workers who have been suspended from their jobs.
Furthermore, special social assistance programs help rehabilitate and promote SMEs. The spread of Covid-19 has become an opportunity to focus on the implementation of protection programs and to build a strong socioeconomic base in the future.
In this regard, Minister Ith Sam Heng stressed that we need to continue to strengthen the system and environmental protection measures in order to expand the scope to other groups, both in the economic and informal sectors, and to also consider the importance of achieving global health coverage to ensure that all citizens have equal access to healthcare.
