To achieve sustainable development, countries around the world have placed strong emphasis on investing in science and technology development as well as building a highly qualified intellectual workforce, including women intellectuals, in both quantity and quality. Such efforts enable them to rapidly access the latest knowledge and technologies of the era in order to fulfill development goals in the new stage. Vietnam is no exception to this trend.
Today, the number of women participating in scientific research and technological activities is steadily increasing, and women are making increasingly significant contributions to the country’s socio-economic development. Through their engagement in science and technology (S&T) research, women continue to affirm their position and role in society, earning recognition and appreciation from the State, communities, and society at large. Alongside these achievements, however, women involved in scientific and technological research still face numerous barriers and challenges related to their professional careers, family responsibilities, and social expectations. The Role of Women in Scientific and Technological Research Activities.
In Vietnam, science and technology (S&T) is one of the eight key areas under the national goals for gender equality. Currently, the number of female researchers in Vietnam has been increasing, accounting for approximately 46% of the country’s total research and development workforce. Women are making increasingly significant contributions to scientific and technological research, thereby helping to promote the nation’s socio-economic development.
Through scientific research activities, numerous advances in science and technology have been applied and transferred to production facilities, communities, and society as a whole. These contributions span various socio-economic sectors, including agriculture, food production, pharmaceuticals, chemistry, education, environmental protection, and social welfare. The outcomes of such activities have helped improve production quality, labor productivity, and innovation capacity, while also attracting investment, creating jobs, promoting technological advancement, and enhancing the country’s economic development. For example, one of the most successful female scientists in the field of agriculture, Nguyễn Thị Trâm, Associate Professor and Doctor at the Vietnam National University of Agriculture, successfully developed dozens of hybrid rice varieties worth billions of VND. In the fields of chemistry and pharmaceuticals, many new discoveries regarding the biological activities of naturally available plant species have contributed to the development of valuable healthcare products for the community. Notably, the products Bioglucumin and Bioglucumin G developed by Lê Mai Hương from the Institute of Natural Products Chemistry under the Vietnam Academy of Science and Technology won Gold and Silver prizes at the 2018 The Korea International Women's Invention Exposition organized by the Korea Women Inventors Association. In 2020, Vietnam had three female scientists selected among Asia’s Top 100 Scientists by the Singapore-based magazine Asian Scientist. In addition, many other Vietnamese women scientists have been honored and internationally recognized through prestigious awards and achievements.
Within academic and research institutions, female lecturers and researchers play an important role as providers of knowledge for students and trainees in educational and training establishments. In addition to carrying out teaching responsibilities, they actively contribute to their institutions’ research activities, mentor and supervise students, and engage in scientific research projects. These women are the ones who help inspire passion, dedication, and confidence in pursuing the noble yet highly challenging path of scientific research.
VIETNAMESE WOMEN INTELLECTUALS IN SCIENCE, TECHNOLOGY, AND INTERNATIONAL INTEGRATION
Vietnamese women intellectuals are professionally trained individuals who possess extensive knowledge in specific fields, hold academic qualifications and scientific positions, and make significant contributions to the nation’s development.
Hiện nay, Among ASEAN countries, Vietnam remains the only nation to have enacted a Law on Gender Equality (in 2006). However, Vietnam is also the only ASEAN country where the retirement age for women is lower than that for men. The planning, training, and professional development of female officials in general, and women intellectuals in particular, have not yet received adequate attention. In many ministries, sectors, and localities, regulations stipulate the same planning age requirements for women as for men, and in some cases even require the same number of years of service after appointment, despite women retiring earlier than men. This remains a significant inconsistency and challenge.
Gender stereotypes and discrimination still persist among certain social groups. The mindset of “valuing men over women” exists not only in rural areas but also in urban settings, including among some leaders, managers, highly educated individuals, and people holding prestigious positions in society. Such gender bias has led many people to underestimate women’s capabilities, particularly in scientific and technological research. This not only limits women’s access to higher education but also affects the ways female intellectuals are perceived, evaluated, selected, trained, and employed, thereby hindering the advancement and professional development of many women. The Law on the Protection and Development of Women in Laos (2004) and the Law on the Protection of Women in Myanmar (2013) have contributed to addressing gender stereotypes in these countries. In Myanmar, many women even choose to remain single in order to pursue higher education, career advancement, wealth creation, and scientific research, while receiving encouragement and support from their families without facing social criticism.
Despite having high educational qualifications and formal professional training, women intellectuals experience higher unemployment rates than men, while female intellectuals in rural areas face greater unemployment than their urban counterparts. Many women outperform men academically and achieve higher scores in recruitment examinations, yet they still encounter barriers to employment in certain fields of science and technology.
Vietnamese women intellectuals have not yet been fully encouraged or motivated to pursue certain fields, particularly the natural sciences and engineering–technology disciplines. There remains an implicit form of “occupational gender stereotyping” that affects women’s participation and advancement in these areas.
In the context of increasingly deep international integration associated with sustainable development, the intellectual workforce represents an especially important resource that contributes to national strength. Investing in intellectuals is, therefore, an investment in sustainable development. The Party need to establish concrete policies and strategic plans to identify, train, and further develop four key groups: young intellectuals, experienced intellectuals with significant practical contributions, ethnic minority intellectuals, and women intellectuals.
In order to create favorable conditions for women intellectuals to develop, contribute, and integrate internationally, several key measures should be implemented:
Today, science and technology in general, and the social sciences in particular, play a decisive role in national development. Vietnamese women intellectuals are engaged in research, teaching, and professional work across all sectors of social life. Therefore, this workforce should receive greater attention, support, and opportunities for advancement. It is necessary to develop specific policies with strong gender sensitivity and a clear gender perspective, guided by the principle that “measures promoting gender equality should not be regarded as gender discrimination.” Promoting the development of women intellectuals also means seriously listening to and effectively utilizing their scientific knowledge, perspectives, and contributions.
In planning the development and training of women intellectuals, especially young women intellectuals, favorable conditions should be created for those with strong professional capabilities to pursue postgraduate degrees before getting married or having young children. At the same time, childbirth and childrearing should not be viewed solely as private family responsibilities, but rather as social responsibilities that require broader societal support.
Appropriate policies and mechanisms regarding career planning, salary increases, promotion, and appointments should be established for women intellectuals in order to encourage, attract, and enhance the working capacity and creative potential of women intellectuals across the country.
Special attention and preferential policies should be provided for women intellectuals from ethnic minority groups, as well as women living and working in mountainous, remote, and disadvantaged areas. In particular, tailored support policies are needed for female officials working in highland regions, remote areas, border areas, and islands; for ethnic minority women; and for female officials pursuing further education while raising young children. Such measures would not only create better opportunities for ethnic minority communities to develop, but also contribute to promoting development in disadvantaged regions and narrowing development gaps among different regions and ethnic groups across the country.
It is essential to strengthen communication and educational activities on gender equality so that society can develop a deeper awareness of the role and importance of women in national development. At the same time, greater efforts are needed to effectively implement the Law on Gender Equality and the Law on the Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence in practice, in alignment with the goals of the ASEAN Socio-Cultural Community and the ASEAN Community Vision.
It is necessary to continue revising the current unreasonable regulations on women’s retirement age, particularly for women working in the fields of science and technology, culture, education, and healthcare. To some extent, these regulations limit women’s opportunities for professional growth and may also contribute to a mindset of “settling for average” and reduced motivation for advancement among many women after marriage and childbirth. From the perspective of labor resources, such regulations also result in a waste of human capital for society and create difficulties for institutions and organizations in which women constitute the overwhelming majority of the workforce.
Greater attention should be given to mobilizing social resources to establish support funds for the development of female human resources, particularly for training young women intellectuals with strong expertise, professional capacity, and knowledge of international integration.
HT (Compiled)
Source: VUSTA
