Women's participation in leadership in Vietnam: current realities and policy implications for gender equality and sustainable development
DOI:
https://doi.org/10.59394/JSM.146Keywords:
Women's participation in leadership, gender equality, sustainable development, local government, VietnamAbstract
Women's participation in leadership and decision-making is widely regarded as an important indicator of gender equality and governance quality. It also plays a significant role in achieving the Sustainable Development Goals. Gender equality itself is one of the 17 Sustainable Development Goals established by the United Nations. This paper analyzes the current realities and the role of women's participation in leadership and decision-making in provinces and centrally-run cities in Vietnam. A mixed-methods approach is adopted in the research, combining descriptive analysis of trends in women’s representation, a review of policy and legal gender equality frameworks, and recent evidence on gender equality across provinces. The findings reveal that while women’s representation in provincial People’s Councils has approached 30% on average, their presence declines sharply in higher tiers of authority, particularly within Provincial-level Party Standing Committees and top leadership positions such as Party Secretaries and Council Chairpersons. From a theoretical perspective, the study helps clarify the distinction between descriptive and substantive representation in positions of power within a decentralized governance system. Based on these findings, the paper identifies policy implications to strengthen women’s participation in leadership and decision-making to support gender equality and sustainable development in Vietnam.
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