Women's Rights at Home and Abroad

The struggle for women’s liberation played a crucial role in Vietnam’s path towards national independence. In recent decades, government legislation has greatly strengthened gender equality throughout Vietnam. However, women still face significant challenges such as sparse political representation, gender-based violence and constrained socio-economic participation. The Rosa-Luxemburg-Stiftung (RLS) therefore works together with the Research Center for Gender, Family and Community Development (GFCD) to support the implementation of women’s rights.

Women hold only about a quarter of electoral offices across Vietnam’s legislative bodies. Moreover, they often find themselves relegated to deputy roles. Therefore, from 2015 to 2018, GFDC supported women in rural and ethnic minority areas to run for office and improve their leadership skills. The research center held workshops and established an ongoing forum for women parliamentarians and candidates to share their experiences. GFCD publicized their success stories in order to change local prejudices and encourage young women. To learn more about how People’s Councils advance gender equality, check out our collaboration with the Institute of Scientific Socialism of the Ho Chi Minh National Academy of Politics.

A series of GFCD’s projects aimed to improve women’s socio-economic development and economic equality. Overseas domestic workers are especially vulnerable, facing a disproportionate risk of labor rights violations and sexual harassment. Thus, GFCD published a research paper and a monograph that highlight the precarious labor conditions of the many Vietnamese women working in private households abroad. Further, GFCD is directly involved in protecting such migrant workers’ labor rights. The research center developed a popular website, an application and a handbook for workers interested in signing overseas labor contracts. Through a cooperation with government agencies, these accessible media provide reliable insights into relevant labor markets, workers’ rights and risks. Several of the involved labor export organizations, which recruit and train Vietnamese migrant workers, have also agreed to incorporate GFCD’s classes on gender-based discrimination into their curriculum. In this way, GFCD ensures that overseas workers are aware of their rights and able to make informed decisions.

Since 2023, GFCD and RLS have partnered with several Women’s Union chapters. With over 19 million members, the Vietnam Women’s Union strives for gender equality through policy making, public service and grassroots campaigns. In several districts, GFCD provided seminars to women's union officials on skills in support of women’s socio-economic development. This expertise in empowerment, addressing sexual violence and challenging prejudices was later passed on to the officials’ respective organizations and communes. From 2025 onwards, RLS plans to extent the work to the Thua Thien Hue province in Central Vietnam and expand the collaboration with the regional Women’s Union.