VIETNAM'S SOCIO-ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT No.7

CHANGES IN WOMEN'S EMPLOYMENT UNDER CONDITIONS OF RAPID URBANIZATION

NGO THI KIM DUNG
* Ms. Ngo Thi Kim Dung is a research fellow of the Center of Sociology and Development, Institute of Social Sciences in Hochiminh City.

It is no accident that sociologists in Vietnam have during the past decade devoted considerable attention to gender issues, in particular the role of women in urban and rural areas due to the impact of changes in macro policies. Although the rate of urbanization in Vietnam is not yet high (only 20%) a new round of urbanization is starting. The social consequences of this process are creating promising opportunities for the development of women. At the same time, they are posing stern challenges that are unlikely to be overcome rapidly.

In this article we wish to deal with opportunities and challenges to women in the suburbs of Hochiminh city, a densely populated city "overspilling" beyond its narrow limits. Social problems pertinent to the change of female occupation in the city's rapidly urbanizing rural suburban areas will be the main theme of this article.

1. As a big urban center and the country's most populated metropolis, Hochiminh City is at present Vietnam's pole of strong attraction. The distribution of population in inner-city areas and suburbs is very uneven. Figures of 1995 show that 70.2 per cent of the population (3,365,000 people) live concentrated in an inner-city area which occupies only 6.8 per cent of the total area, whereas 29.8 per cent (1,430,000 people) reside scattered in villages extending over 93.2 per cent of its total surface. Under the impact of the renovation policy, the city's economy grows very rapidly (on average 12 per cent yearly; 15.3 per cent for 1995). Wide suburban areas are becoming urbanized. Within the next fifteen years Hochiminh City's inner city will double its present area, and every year agricultural land in the city's suburbs will diminish by 1.2 to 2 per cent on average.

The urbanization process has made areas on the outskirts transform their economic structure, with strong impacts on societal structure and lifestyles. A part of the rural population must move, change occupations, reorganise their lives and shift their lifestyles to adapt to the urban environment. Women are most sensitive to these impacts and face the largest problems coping with them.

2. For Hochiminh City in general, working women play an important role. Figures of 1995 show 710,864 working women in almost all professions, occupying 40.8 per cent of the city's total work force. Women hold the key role in light industries (textile, leather, garments, food processing) and in urban small service trades. At some joint-venture enterprises in export processing zones, women account for 60 to 80 per cent of the work force. However, the development of female labour in this city is facing many difficulties. The overall level of education of women is still very low compared to that of men (see Table 1).

Source: General Population Census of Hochiminh City 1989.

At present, there are some 220,000 unemployed people every year in the whole city, of whom 60 to 75 per cent are women. Seeking employment is generally more difficult for women than for men because women are limited in their capacities to meet recruitment requirements (physical health, education, skills, mobility).

3. In suburban areas, the majority of working women are still mainly engaged in agriculture. Women play a more important role in this sector since men tend to move strongly towards non-agricultural professions. Yet most women are doing unskilled work. A considerable number of women are also becoming active in petty trade. Related to women's employment, social problems have arisen in the city's suburban areas, most prominently in villages that have recorded a rapid pace of urbanization. A considerable portion of women in these areas are forced to change occupations so as to ensure stable earnings for their families and for themselves. This represents a difficult transition for women.

As sizable investments in zoning and construction projects are being implemented, the social and physical faces of the city are changing every day. Agricultural land is giving way to factories, industrial estates, and export processing zones. Our survey revealed that 86 per cent of households in An Phu village (Thu Duc district) had sold all or part of their agricultural land, whereas in Phu My village (Nha Be district) 68.6 per cent had received government compensation for the withdrawal of cultivated land for urban infrastructure.

Peasants must change occupations and lifestyles to comply with the new conditions. Women can find employment at factories and export processing zones located in suburban areas, especially in light industries. The Tan Thuan export processing zone in Nha Be district extends over 300 ha. By February 1996 the total work force at 38 factories reached 5,444. It is planned to attract some 300 enterprises, creating stable jobs for about 75,000 people. Women account for a high proportion of the labour force, from 50 to 90 per cent depending on the branch. An Phu village has attracted more than 50 enterprises. In addition to employment in fields and factories, new occupations appropriate for women have emerged: service activities (household chores, cooking, hair-dressing, dress-making), petty commerce, handicrafts (incense-stick manufacturing, rice paper making, ornament-tree growing, knitting, crocheting). Women in suburban areas also have the opportunity to find or create employment in the private sector within family productive units. The ratio of female labour in agriculture gradually decreases (36% compared to 53.5% three years ago).

The structure of Hochiminh City's GDP in 2000 is expected to be: industry 46%; agriculture, forestry and fishery 2%; services 52%. Women in suburban areas must overcome the following challenges:

1. Education and Skills: The educational level of suburban women is very low (average sixth grade). The illiteracy ratio of women is generally higher than that of men. The country's economic development has created good prospects for female labour, but requires that the quality of human resources be commensurate. At present the number of women holding highly remunerative occupations is insignificant. Women in non-agricultural jobs are in absolute majority engaged in motley services, hawking, unskilled work or domestic help. Though the work is hard, it is badly paid and unstable. Table 2 gives a concrete idea about this situation.

Source: Statistics of An Phu village.

Firms which have begun operations continue to attract female labour. But with the market mechanism, enterprises recruit workers who have gone at least through the second educational grade and are moderately skilled. They usually recruit young unmarried women between 18 and 25 years of age. Low educational levels and skills stand as among the biggest obstacles for suburban women seeking employment. For middle-aged women with 2 or 3 children, the obstacle is greatest. Vocational training centers in Thu Duc, Nha Be, Binh Chanh are operating under capacity; many reasons prevent women from attending (distance, family obligations, husband's permission, financial paucity, inferiority complex).

2. Lack of capital is another great difficulty. Households who have sold land have spent large amounts on housing, consumer goods, or bank deposits. Investments in production, animal breeding, or professional training are still low.

3. Challenges to changes in lifestyle: The portion of rural women recruited to work in industrial enterprises (about 10%) are confronted with mental and physical stress. The proportion of women holding stable jobs tends to fall while temporary work or seeking employment increases. Urbanization has improved aspects of life (housing, consumer goods, roads, schools) but observations show more unemployment (81.7% of opinions) and increased social evils (23.9%). Competition for jobs is and will be stiff. Land price rises have resulted in land disputes within families. Materialism and spendthrift psychology may thrive in the absence of proper guidance.

We believe that every social measure to cope with problems that have arisen and impeded the rise of woman status in the urbanization process should be viewed in the light of the multidimensional nature of that process. In order to reach social progress, attention should be attached to reduce the price to be paid for perplexing steps forward. This represents an aspect of achieving the objective of building a "just and civilized society".

1. Policies of conversion of the city's suburban socio-economic structure cannot neglect the importance of fostering high-quality agricultural production on the city's belt, which will demand less but better skilled labour. The creation of a network of non-agricultural professions should be closely linked to market forecasts and to a strategy of building appropriate human resources and raising people's cultural standards. The private sector has to be drawn in, and the State should develop policies to encourage private enterprises to actively participate in training and re-training.

2. As far as institutions are concerned, care should be taken to perfect three key types of organisation: vocational training institutions tightly associated with human resources-hiring organs; credit institution and agricultural extension; institutions of economic information and marketing.

3. From the cultural standpoint, a flow of social information should be maintained for local people to become aware of the various "scripts" of development of the city and its outskirts. Perfecting policies, institutions and cultural directions will eventually contribute to the self-sustaining development of this largest metropolis. And to speak of "self-sustaining development" also means that the urbanization process should be humanized.

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