Gender equality in Viet Nam - Looking from the development of women - owned small and medium enterprise

Abstract

   After 10 years since The Law of Gender Equality was implemented, the status of Vietnamese women hasincreased drammatically, expressed in the positiveness in economic, the equality in the family and society. In the economy,women account for nearly 50 percent of the workforce. They not only "keep fire" in each family but also are successful leadersin production-business activities. In order to provide a perspective of gender equality, this paper focuses on analyzing andclarifying the contribution and effectiveness of women-owned small and medium enterprises (SMEs). By the descriptive statisticmethod, the paper reveals that women-oned SMEs in Vietnam have played important role in generating jobs, increasing incomes,contributing to the state budget and economic growth, therefore improving the status of women and reducing gender inequality.However, women-owned SMEs still have certain limitations and face many difficulties, especially in the context of the 4thIndustrial Revolution, which shows that it is essential to support for women-owned SMEs.