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Female Entrepreneurship in Vietnam

Faculty Mentor: Dr. Rose-Marie Avin | Economics Department, University of Wisconsin Eau Claire

BETH JACOBSON AND THAO TRAN

The World Bank’s Vietnam Gender Assessment of 2011 quotes research

asserting, “…that female owned enterprises are of special significance in

transition and developing countries because they tend to employ other

women more frequently, help reduce gender discrimination in the wage labor

market, and possibly reduce trafficking by expanding economic opportunities

for women.” [2] Given this information about the role of female entrepreneurs

in the developing world, we conducted an in-depth study in Vietnam, which

will significantly contribute to economic development literature and provide a

reference for policymakers.

INTRODUCTION

OBJECTIVES

• Meet with 46 female entrepreneurs in Ha Noi, Vietnam - Summer of 2015

• Combination of interviews and surveys

• Methods show both numbers and specific details to better capture the

women’s complex socio-economic realities in Vietnam

• Use qualitative and quantitative data

• Deepen knowledge about the role of female entrepreneurs in Vietnam

• Contribute to the economic development literature on female entrepreneurs.

• Aid policymakers to develop government policies that promote female entrepreneurship

• Enhance research skills and cultural knowledge

METHODS & METHODOLOGY

RESULTS & ANALYSIS

• The chart above reflects the demographics of the female entrepreneurs and

their businesses, which is presented as women under 40 years old and those

who are older than 40.

• Younger female entrepreneurs in our sample are more likely to be married with

children, registered with the government and have annual revenue over

$10,000.

• Older women, however, are less likely to be married, possibly due to separation

or death of spouse, and more likely to start their business because they had a

need for additional income.

• Both groups of women seem to have the same level of education, which

suggests that the drive for further education has not altered much between

the time both groups were in school.

• Additionally, the larger annual revenue and smaller percentage of younger

women opening the business due to lack of income suggests that younger

entrepreneurs open their business and become successful because they are

passionate about that particular industry.

• We further noted from the data that those who are not registered with the

government are likely to be in the informal sector of business, which partially

explains why the older women tend to have lower revenue.

HIGHLIGHTS – DEMOGRAPHY AND BUSINESS

ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

REFERENCES

CHALLENGES & BIAS

Given the international scope of our research, we encountered several significant

challenges and bias that caused our data to be skewed. The first bias is

convenience population bias, as most of our surveys were conducted through

researchers’ connections in Vietnam. The second bias is that all of our population

are in urban area, Hanoi, and the majority of businesses are in the service sector.

• Support for this project came from University of Wisconsin – Eau Claire

International Fellowship Program for Research, Service, and Creative by

Blugold Commitment Grant, and Economics Department.

• We thank Dr. Linda Kinney, Shepherd University, and Dr. Khoi Nguyen, Vietnam

National University for their contributions.

[1] Avin Rose-Marie and Linda Paul Kinney. 2014. Trends in Female

Entrepreneurship in Vietnam. Unpublished.

[2] World Bank. 2011. Vietnam – Country gender assessment. Washington,

DC: World Bank.

[3] General Statistics Office of Vietnam. (2013). Report on Labor Force

Survey 2012. Hanoi, Vietnam.

76.5%82.4%

41.2%

11.8%

35.3%

70.6%

82.4%

47.1%

37.9%

96.6%

41.4%

31.0%

10.3%

75.9%

55.2%

72.4%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

120.0%

Female Entrepreneurship in Vietnam: Comparison

Based on Age Bracket

Women under 40 years old Women above 40 years old

11.8%17.6% 17.6%

88.2%100.0%

82.4%

27.6%

55.2%

44.8%

86.2%100.0%

48.3%

0.0%

20.0%

40.0%

60.0%

80.0%

100.0%

120.0%

Question: Is it okay for women to ... ? Answer: No / Not sure

Opinion on Gender Roles for Vietnamese Female

Entrepreneurs Based on Age

Women under 40 years old Women above 40 years old

RESULTS & ANALYSIS

HIGHLIGHTS – FAMILY AND GENDER ROLES

• The chart above reflects the opinions on gender roles and is split between

female entrepreneurs under the age of 40 and those who are older than 40

years old.

• One main aspect that stands out on “Opinion of Family and Gender Roles”

section is that all female entrepreneurs, regardless of age, answered “No” to

the question of whether it was appropriate for a husband to tell his wife that

she has to stay at home and cannot work outside the home.

• Additionally, both groups of women believed it is okay for the woman to be

the sole earner of the household, but that may be due to factors that may

inhibit their spouses from being able to work outside the home.

HIGHLIGHTS – FAMILY AND GENDER ROLES CONT.

• The main difference in answers occurred when asked whether a woman could

earn more than her husband. The younger women were more accepting of

this than the older women.

• Overall, most female entrepreneurs show independent points of view in

regards to gender roles. We did find that younger women tended to have a

stronger sense of gender equality as more of them agreed that women can

participate in the government, earn higher income, and be more educated

than their spouses. Younger women are also more likely to believe that family

responsibility should be shared equally between partners.

OPEN-ENDED RESPONSES

When asked if they think female entrepreneurs face more challenges than male

entrepreneurs, the interviewees responses were generally split. We found that

57% of the responses believed yes, female entrepreneurs face more challenges,

whereas 41% said no and 4% were unsure. Those who said yes focused on

women’s added responsibility of the family and housework, cultural barriers,

networking limitations, and the need for added support from one’s family.

However, others felt that women are more suited to be entrepreneurs and have

skills that men lack.

QUOTES

• “I even hid it from my family because I was afraid of social shaming if I failed.”

• “.. no matter how successful or how busy a woman is, she has to make time for her family […] She shouldn’t make too much money, and definitely not more than her husband.”

• “A woman is required to have more strength and commitment in order to compete with many other businessmen.”

• “I needed to make a lot of connections through exchanging money and creating mutual benefits relationship […] It was hard for women to get connections because of cultural barriers”

• “My attitude changed and so did my lifestyle and behavior. I became more objective and more understanding.”

• “I have had lot of difficulties in human resources, especially in getting good employees and keeping employees.”

• “The government has been giving me a hard time in business licensing and paperwork, and yet I did not get any support from the government.”

AREAS FOR FUTURE STUDY

• Comparing economic well-being and challenges between Vietnamese female and male entrepreneurs

• Comparing economic well-being and challenges between Vietnamese female entrepreneurs in urban areas and those in rural areas