Gender Division of Household Labor in Vietnam: Cohort Trends and Regional Variations

INTRODUCTIONVietnam's transformation from a centrally planned to a market economy in the late 1 980s has led to impressive economic growth, rapid poverty reduction, and improved living standards. One of the overarching research questions is how this sweeping economic success and dramatic social change have affected gender stratification in the post-socialist society, where many gender equalization programs were put in place for decades prior to the market reform. Most research has focused on the changing status of Vietnamese women in the public spheres, including educational attainment, earnings, occupational status, job mobility, and political representation (Desai, 2001 ; Goodkind, 1996; Hainsworth, 1993; Korinek, 2004; Le, 1995; Liu, 2002; Tran, 1996; Truong, Knodel, Le, & Tran, 1995). Much less is known about how women fare in the domestic spheres, particularly the division of household labor which is one of the most persistent forms of gender inequality. In this study we address the extent of change in gender roles in the Vietnamese family based on innovative surveys in northern and southern parts of Vietnam. We focus on examining the patterns of change that took place over the last four decades as well as documenting regional differences in the gender division of household labor.Throughout the 20th century Vietnam underwent major social upheavals and structural transformation, including massive military mobilization, periods of socialist collectivization, decades of continuous wars, severe economic stagnation, and market liberalization. Yet, during this period, northern and southern regions of Vietnam, which were temporarily under separate governments between 1954 and 1975, differed quite remarkably in their political, social, and economic trajectories (Keyes, 1995; Rambo, 1973). For example, the North had a much longer exposure to socialist policies and laws which promoted female labor force participation, partly out of necessity to free men for fighting for independence, but also to discourage some Confucian-based family practices deemed backward such as arranged marriage and elaborate wedding ceremonies (Malarney, 2002). Meanwhile, the South hada greater access to information and perspectives from the West through several decades of the French and American presence (Duiker, 1995; Hiebert, 1992). These regional differences are likely to have implications for marriage and family. Recent studies document significant north-soum variations in marriage rituals (Goodkind, 1995), famuy Uving arrangement (Truong, Bui, Goodkind, & Knodel, 1997), household composition (Belanger, 2000), and premarital sexual behaviors (Ghuman, Vu, Vu, & Knodel, 2006). Likewise, the different historical trajectories between northern and southern Vietnam may differentiaUy affect the extent to which wives and husbands in these two regions share unpaid domestic tasks.Existing research on gender domestic roles in Vietnam shows that Vietnamese women continue to do a majority of housework and little has changed over time in terms of husbands' contributions to household labor (Houtrat & Lemercinier, 1984; Le, 1995; Long, Le, Truitt, Le, & Dang, 2000; Pham, 1999; Vu, 1991). While offering consistent findihgs to research in otiier settings, these studies have certain hmitations. Most of them rely on anecdotal evidence or convenience samples focusing on one geographic area of Vietnam. They usuaUy lack baseline data and therefore, are unable to evaluate change over time. A partial exception is a recent study by Knodel and colleagues that examines patterns of domestic gender roles in the Red River Delta in northern Vietnam (Knodel, Vu, Jayakody, & Vu, 2005). The present study extends this eariier work by also incorporating a subsequent parallel survey conducted in southern Vietnam that covered provinces surrounding and including Ho Chi Minh City thus permitting regional comparisons. Together the two surveys comprise the Vietnam Study of Family Change. …