GENDER TALK #4: Many Faces of Gender Equality
On May 23, 2019, Gender Talk #4-The Academic Activity on Gender and Gender Equality was held at Hoa Sen University (HSU). As usual, Gender Talk #4 attracted participants from all walks of life: college students, staff from social institutions, agencies and NGOs, educators, psychologists, social workers, and individuals who are interested in gender issues and gender equality.
Gender Talk #4 focused on “Many Faces of Gender Equality” presented by Doan Thi Ngoc, Lecturer and Founder of Gender Talk, HSU, and “HIV/AIDS & Safe Sex” presented by Mr. Nguyen Anh Phong, Manager of VNP.
Regarding the first topic “Many Faces of Gender
Equality”, Ms. Ngoc introduced concepts of equity, equality, and gender
equality, and some achievements and challenges of gender equality in practice.
First, Ms.Ngoc ignited her talk by asking the audience
if they agree or disagree with the view that many people have said to her: “Viet
Nam has achieved gender equality already. Why do you and many women keep
fighting for gender equality and demanding rights?”. Some older respondents
were more likely to agree with that view. Whereas many students said that while
they believe that gender equality has increased in Viet Nam, they are more
likely to disagree with the statement. They shared some personal experiences such
as unequal pay in workplace, domestic violence, and double-shift issues for
women to support their arguments.
After a heated exchange within the audience, Ms. Ngoc reminded
the audience that they should be cautious when listening to her sharing because
knowledge can be changed very fast. It could be out of date tomorrow. Below are
some of the views on gender equality that Ms. Ngoc stressed:
- Gender equality is for everyone (including men, women, LGBTIQ+, yet I will focus on men and women in this article);
- Gender equality does not mean to uplift men and push women down, or vice versa;
- Gender equality does not educate men to be like women or women to be like men, rather it is to empower individuals to be themselves, to unleash their potentials, to provide opportunities to everyone, to treat everyone equally and fairly, to exercise human rights;
- Gender equality does not dictate that everything must be 50/50;
- Gender equality embraces potentials, abilities, and beauty of both men and women.
- Gender equality does NOT assume that some characteristics are only for women or for men. These are diverse and variable.
These onset gender equality perspectives may help participants
better understand gender equality, shed light on their own thoughts and behaviors
about gender stereotypes, prejudices, discrimination, and misunderstandings in
thinking and actions on gender equality.
Next, Ms. Ngoc said that everyone wants to be fair,
just, equal, and respectful. However, we do not often experience all these in
our life. Why is that? Gender equality is intersectional.
To understand what gender equality is, everyone should
first understand the three fundamentally important concepts: Equity, equality,
and gender equality.
First, equity means fairness and justice in process and
in results. To achieve a fair outcomes, we have to distribute resources
differently to different individuals, groups, and communities based on their
needs. This requires recognizing and addressing barriers in order to provide
opportunity for all people, especially the marginalized to thrive in their
environment. For example, we cannot
bridge the gender pay gap without solving inequity because society still
treats men as having more value than women.
Second,
what is equality? According to Human rights, “Equality is about ensuring
that every individual has an equal opportunity to make the most of their lives
and talents.” Equality also means providing resources to everyone equally
despite their needs. For instance, high-paying jobs are still dominated by men. Women earn less than
men when doing the same jobs. In addition, poverty is another issue
of inequality. We can see that surrounding us. We can see that the gap between the
rich and the poor is widening. The rich become richer and the poor become
poorer. To recognize this inequality, we can end the poverty of unequal pay.
Ms.
Ngoc also stressed that distinguishing equity and equality concepts are very
important to us because they go hand-in-hand, and cannot be achieved one
without the other. To understand the concepts, we must create a place where the
poor, the vulnerable, the marginalized are protected and supported effectively
and will bring us one step closer to fair outcomes.
Third,
what is gender equality? Gender equality indicates in Article 5 of Law
on Gender Equality of Vietnam that man and woman have equal positions
and roles; are given equal conditions and opportunities to develop their
capacities for the development of the community family, and equally enjoy the
achievement of that development. For example, Viet Nam Labor
Law stipulates that women are entitled to 30 minutes of rest during their
menstrual period, while men are not entitled to this provision.
Ms. Ngoc elaborated on gender equality by encouraging everyone
to ask questions such as whether roles, positions, responsibilities and
rights are equal for everyone, especially men and women, LGBTIQ+, in the
family, in the organization, and in society? If yes, we have to ask to what
extent is gender equality reached? And why we have we not yet reached gender
equality even though we are now in the 21st century?
Therefore, when making policies, activities, programs,
projects and services at all levels, it is necessary to have a gender lens and pay attention to the three elements constituting gender equality:
- Pay attention to gender differences & gender inequalities that may exist.
- Pay attention to the influence of customs and practices which are the root causes of gender stereotype and discrimination.
- Policies and laws are not only concerned with general regulations, but pay special attention to regulations that show two aspects: equality and reasonable distinction of priority factors for a particular group, either for men or women or LGBTIQ+, in order to achieve gender equality in practice.
Fourth, some bright spots of gender equality in
Vietnam were presented as below:
· Viet
Nam has laws and policies on gender equality.
· Viet
Nam National Assembly has its first Chairwoman, Ms. Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan.
· Women
participating in the XIV National Assembly is at 26.8 percent,
· Women
participating in the 12th Politburo is nearly 16 percent
· Female
employees make up 48.3 percent of labor force, and
· Women
accounts for nearly 25 percent of participating in business management.
Fifth, Ms. Ngoc discussed some challenges of gender
inequality. According to Le Thi Qui (2009) and Hoang Ba Thinh (2021), gender
inequality is the deepest of all inequalities because it exists in society and
in families. Gender inequality appeared earliest in history, but it was
discovered latest. In the family level, gender inequality is not easily
recognized and difficult to manage because we want our family to be harmonious
and happy together. Not only that, fighting gender inequality in the family can
be challenging. Women are often expected to endure all odds, uphold
self-sacrifice, and suppress negative emotions in order to maintain family
happiness. While there is nothing wrong about women sacrificing to help to
maintain happiness for the family, but it is unfair when sacrifices are made
only by women. The family is an important institution, and we all want to be in
a peaceful and happy family. In order to do that, it requires all family members,
in which the role of parents is important for maintaining family happiness, to collaborate
and contribute, and to support each other.
In patriarchal families, parents often give priority
to boys going to school because they believe that boys are important and will
be the breadwinner to support family in the future. Their mindset considers
that boys are better than girls, boys are more physically strong, proactive,
aggressive and assertive than girls. They still believe that “investing in boys
is more profitable than investing in girls.” This is a misconception and gender
stereotype that is positive for men and detrimental for women. Thus, this leads
to disadvantages to everyone in society.
Another popular social pattern is that when it comes
to gender roles in the family, many people still think housework is for only
women and girls. A strong man would never do housework, or he may be judged as womanlike
and will be looked down upon as a weak individual. This view seems to be
popular, especially in the rural or remote areas, and in patriarchal families
in towns and cities. Moreover, many people now have a misconception that women no
longer need to do housework anymore. The question is, who will do housework? Housework
is an important job and it requires everyone to engage in it reasonably and
effectively. These opinions on housework are unequal and create gender
stereotypes of housework, leads to dual roles for women who both work and do
housework, while many men do not contribute their fair share of the housework.
According to a survey by MOLISA & ActionAid
(2016), women do 5-8 hours housework & childcare per week more than men .
As we all know, time is money. Five to eight hours can create a lot of material
wealth and huge differences in many factors, but as women, they have to take on
more housework responsibilities. This “dual role” is one of the major obstacles
to many Vietnamese women’s choice and sustaining development. For example, many
wives are ready to retreat from work or promotion and give their husbands a
chance to advance. Even in some cases, the wives are willing to choose low-wage
or low-value jobs to be able to have time to take care of their children and
their families. Research shows that if any woman cannot fulfill dual roles,
they are often insecure, apologetic, guilty, torn, and blame themselves.
In
addition to challenges of family, we face issues such as wage inequalities,
inequality in retirement age, inequality in gender violence, inequality in
political rights, inequality in sexual harassment. For example, Vietnamese
citizens were so angry about a sexual assaulted in an elevator for which the
man was fined 200,000 VND (USD 8.6). People shared that it is ridiculous, like
a slap on Vietnamese women that goes against the dignity of Vietnamese women.
This indicates a huge loophole in sexual assault laws. When it comes to sexual harassment,
the majority of people are too scared or too ashamed to report the incidents.
The victims eventually are blamed for their faults and suffer mistrust and
doubt. Action Aids survey on 2,000 women in 2014 said that 87 percent of women
and girls experienced sexual harassment in public, but over 60 percent kept
silent because of lack of support. Another national research in 2010 also
reported that 34 percent of women suffered domestic violence by their spouses.
The
final thoughts for the presentation is that we all need to consider different
approaches to gender equality because it is intersectional. Maybe it is time
that we show more support for men to advance gender equality regarding home and
work. We may discuss on formal gender equality and substantive gender equality more
in the future.
Regarding the number of people living with HIV, Mr.Nguyen
Anh Phong said, according to the World Health Organization (WHO), HIV/AIDS is a
major public health problem that has no cure yet and has claimed the lives of
about 35 million people globally. In 2017, approximately 36.9 million people
were living with HIV and about 940,000 people died from HIV-related causes
worldwide. In Vietnam, in 2017 there were about 250,000 people with HIV, there
were 10,453 new infections, and the number of deaths in 2017 was 2,150 cases.
Regarding sexual rights, this is a sensitive topic
because when it comes to HIV infection, people often think of sex. Sexual
rights are human rights. Sex is not bad, but unsafe sex may lead to many
negative consequences, especially current and future life disturbances for
individuals, families, and the community. Therefore, understanding 10 sexual
rights to make the right choices is essential, and it is never too late to
learn to achieve the highest standards of sexual health. That is, people must first be
empowered to exercise choice in their sexual and reproductive lives; they must
feel confident and safe in expressing their own sexual identity; seeking,
receiving and exchanging information on sex education; respecting and controlling
one’s own body; being free to select sexual partners; obtaining consensual
sexual relationships; deciding whether or not to have a sexual relationship; having
consensual marriage; deciding whether or not to have children and when. Sexual
rights need to be considered in accordance with the law and morality.
Regarding safe sex, Mr. Nguyen Anh Phong states that
there are three routes of HIV/AIDS transmission, including: From mother to
child, unsafe sex, and sharing needles. Phong said that if everyone understood
the three ways, we can stop transmitting HIV/AIDS and we would not have stigma
and avoid people with HIV/AIDS. HIV/AIDS cannot be transmitted through talking,
hugging, kissing, swimming in the pool, shaking hands, eating together, getting
bitten by mosquitoes, or coughing and sneezing.
So to avoid the risk of HIV/AIDs infection, prevention
is more important than cure. It includes knowing how to use condoms, limiting
numbers of sexual partners or being faithful to one partner; getting tested for
HIV and other STDs, not letting your partner's blood, semen or vaginal fluids
enter your body, having basic knowledge on how to prevent disease for yourself
and your partner; using separate items that may be contaminated with blood
(toothbrushes, razors...), and sterilizing reusable instruments properly.
At the end of the presentation, Mr. Phong also asked
students questions: How do you know someone has HIV/AIDs? Mr. Phong said that it
is very difficult for us to know who is infected with HIV/AIDs just by looking
at them. The only way is to test for HIV/AIDs. What should we do when someone
tells us that they are infected with HIV? When we know someone is infected with
HIV/AIDS, we should comfort them, do not panic, do not repel, do not
discriminate, but calmly support them and immediately contact the Medical
Centers or the hotline: 18000019 for help.
FEEDBACK FROM AUDIENCE OF GENDER TALK #4
#1.Thai Ho Thien Thanh:
Thanks to the Gender Talk Organizer and the two speakers of Gender Talk #4. The
two presentations are informative, practical, and everyone excitedly engaged in
discussing issues openly.
#2. Pham Ngoc Anh Hong
shared, “I came to the Gender talk because of the two speakers. It was a great
experience. Mr. Phong and Prof. Ngoc created a lot of motivation for me and I
am inspired in sociology. Besides, I hope to have many opportunities to come to
Gender talk to learn more about the experiences of many teachers and experts in
the future."
#3. Nguyen Thuy Trang,
a student of HSU said that she learned so much about HIV/AIDS such as: the
number of the number of people infected with HIV. That’s scary. Before I
thought that I can get infected when standing near the people living with HIV.
They have faced hardships, difficulties. But it is terrible many people appear
to be alienated, rejected, stigmatized, isolated... and gradually push them out
of the orbit of life intentionally and unintentionally. Small things we can do,
we can open our hearts with them. This becomes invaluable gifts for them and
help them get up and move on.
#4. Le Thi Thien Huong
shared “The topics of Gender Talk #4 are very good and real. People learned and
changed their thoughts and behaviors after getting knowledge.
#5. Nguyen Thuan Anh-HSU
student: “I attended Gender Talks #2, #3, and #4. This is a very practical and
useful academic activity for a student like me, because I am here to update new
knowledge and trends about gender and gender equality, and many other aspects. I
have changed my perception, actions about many things. Thanks to you and the
two speakers.
#6. Nguyen Ngoc Phuong Quynh:
“Gender talk #4 is very helpful because it helps me understand and how to
properly avoid unsafe sex. This is very useful to young people today when they
do not understand or are indifferent about condoms. Gender Talk #4 also helped
me understand HIV, risk behaviors, and ways to reduce the community's anxiety
and fear towards people living with HIV because this is one of the causes
leading to stigmatization of people living with HIV. "
#7.
Nguyen Thi Cam Tien: “I am equipped with a lot of knowledge at
Gender Talk #4 as well as ways to prevent HIV/AIDS, but I am still very confused
about its infection. I understood better what "safe sex" is and
people with HIV or stigmatization on people with HIV/AIDS. Moreover, Gender Talk
#4 provides proper knowledge on gender equality and how to use gender lens for
everything. Thank you!
#8. Duong Nhat Quang:
Gender Talk #4 addressed HIV/AIDS and reminded us that we should do our part to
practice safe sex. Although I had researched about safe sex on my own before,
the Gender Talk added some new knowledge for me, as well as letting everyone
know that there is nothing wrong with sex, only unsafe and not consensual sex
is wrong. Inequality issues are also raised because gender equality is not only
a basic human rights, but a necessary foundation for a peaceful, prosperous and
sustainable world. As is currently reported, in 18 countries a husband can
legally prevent his wife from working; in 39 countries, daughters and sons do
not have equal inheritance rights; and 49 countries lack laws to protect women
from domestic violence (United Nations: Gender equality and women's
empowerment,” 2019).
In fact, when men and women do similar jobs, women
earn less, about $0.75-0.98 per dollar compared with men's $1, according to “Gender
Pay Gap Ratios, Stats and Infographics 2019. Most notably in Vietnam, women in
Vietnam have an average annual income of 3 million VND lower than that of men,
equivalent to a month's income. This gap did not change between 2011 and 2014
and the income gap persists even though the education gap has narrowed. That’s
sad.
By
Doan Thi Ngoc- HSU Lecturer and The Founder of Gender Talk.
