This updated Gender Briefing Kit is based on an important shift in the global approach to achieving gender equality. We have learned that gender equality cannot be achieved by one group, or a few individuals acting alone. It can only be achieved where there is strong leadership, and broad commitment and action by government and development partners. The gender mainstreaming approach aims to change the way people and organizations think and work. It aims to ensure that the complexities and differences in men’s and women’s lives, their needs and priorities, are systematically and comprehensively considered and addressed at all levels, in all sectors, and at each stage of policy and program development and implementation. It is only when gender mainstreaming is successfully adopted and implemented, that we can begin to feel confident that policies and programmes will consider and address each person’s needs and priorities, and that all Vietnamese people, men, women, girls, and boys, can participate in and benefit equally in the country’s achievements.

The Gender Briefing Kit offers a timely snapshot of key gender issues and concerns in Viet Nam as viewed by the United Nations. It records recent findings on progress made for both women and men in such areas as enrolment in primary education, health and poverty reduction. It also details the increased vulnerability of women to violence – such as domestic violence and trafficking – as well as to continuing inequalities in wage earnings and workload burdens. There is also a separate chapter on gender issues in ethnic minority cultures since these groups are often vulnerable to a somewhat different set of problems.