The contribution of rural women in socio-economic development: A case study in Chau Phu District, An Giang Province, Vietnam

Abstract

The study aims to quantify the extent of the contribution of rural women in socioeconomic development in Chau Phu District, An Giang Province, Vietnam. The contribution in terms of money was measured by time spent performing paid and unpaid activities converted into money. Women’s economic empowerment framework was employed to analyze aspects of participation, outcome, and role in decision making intra-household issues. Data were collected from purposively selected 147 respondents, in 03 villages, via a structured questionnaire, in October 2020. Pearson’s correlation coefficient (r) was computed to examine the possible relationships between the selected characteristics and the contribution. The indexes of participation, barriers, and benefits archived in economic activities, as well as intra-household decision making role highlighted the status of women’s economic empowerment progress. The findings indicate a high unpaid working time, low wage, perceived low productivity, a sum of 9.30 working hours daily, and a contribution computed approximately at 90 million VND yearly.