In Vietnam,w omena ccountf or nearly5 2 percenot f thet otal populationo f approximately 68.1m illion. The statuso f womenh asg raduallye volvedf tom a subordinationp ositionb egun under the feudal Chinese Period and continued during the period of colonisation, to a more equitables tatusi n present-dayV ietnam. During the war of reunification,V ietnamesew omen werep ut in a dynamics ituationw heret heyh adt o operatea t parw ith men. Thew ar whichl asted well overa decadec, reateda no pportunityf or themt o participatein whatw asa traditionallym ale dominateds phereo f activity. Subsequentlyth, e societyr eciprocatedb y grantingw omenb asic rightst raditionallyr eservedfo r mena ndt he constitutiona ndl egislationo f then ew independent state was clear about supporting the rights of women. Although Vietnam does lag behind economicallyc omparedto mostd evelopingc ountriesa ndt he industrialw orld, in many domains includingm atemalm ortality,l ife expectancyn,u mbero f womenc omparedto men in the labour force,p arliamentarrye presentatioann dl iteracyr ates,t he gap is minimal, andi n somei nstances surpassese ven figures of women in the developedi ndustrial countries. Following the reunificationw ar (southa ndn orth Vietnam),T he SocialistR epublico f Vietnamh as beenr uled by theV ietnamesCe ommunisPt artyu ndera regimeo f neo-StalinisCt entraPl lanning. Sincet he 1980sV, ietnamh asb eeng raduallym ovingt o a markete conomy.I n 1987w ith the introduction of Doi Moi (economic recovery programme), the Government committed to transform the countryi nto a socialistm arkete conomy. However,w hile progresst owardsa markete conomy is gradually evolving, a disturbing trend is emerging: it appears that women are being marginaliseedc onomically.O f thew orkforcem ader edundanitn 1990,70p ercentw erew omen. Most enterprisesa,n d evena dministrativeo fficesn ow put womena t a disadvantageO. ftens uch discriminationsa re linked with maternityl eavea nd relatede ntitlementsa ccordedt o women employees. This thesiss etso ut to examinet he following hypothesesa: ) to ascertainw hethert he status of women in Vietnam as compared to that of other women regionally and globally is relativelyp ositive; b) to examinet hen atuTeo f the impacto f the emergingm arket economyo n their status;a nd c) to ascertainth e effectso f small and mediums calei ndustryo n that impact, either negative or positive. The research methodology employed to test the above hypotheses consists of a combinationo f methodsc omprisinga nalysiso f archival informationa ndm ultiple cases tudies with two questionnairecso mplementebdy exploratory,e xplanatorya ndd escriptives trategies. The empirical phase is based on two case studies of two small-medium sized industries in Vietnam.T hesep articularc ompaniews eres electedm ainlyb ecauseth eyc ontaineda high female representatiofnro m the textile industry ast hey traditionally employw omen. The resultso f the surveysc onductedf or CaseS tudyA and CaseS tudyB are analysedto identify the statusa nd aspirationos f womenw orking in a small-mediums izedi ndustry. Sociala nd cultural aspectso f these women are also explored. In conclusion, the thesis wraps up the findings of the surveys and draws summations from the literature reviewed. It also offers recommendations aimed at empowering women in overcoming economic difficulties in order to maintain their social equality.

Although the Vietnam War has long passed, it still defines the lives of many Vietnamese refugee women who endured its aftermath. This thesis examines how war and the refugee process has shaped the memories and changed the roles of Vietnamese refugee women age 55 and older. Based on 10 life history interviews with Vietnamese women living in Atlanta, this study finds they structured their narratives by awarding the period after the Vietnam War with the most prominence. Also, the research shows the greatest amount of role change and role strain occurred during this time. With the absence of their husbands in the war’s aftermath, the women experienced great familial and financial instability, forcing them to add the role of head of the household. I argue that during this period, they exhibited resiliency, shrewdness, and entrepreneurial spirit on a familial scale—a culmination of events I define as survival feminism.

Contemporary anthropological research looks at the heterogeneous composition of the Vietnamese minority in the Czech Republic and observes different ways of integration of the various generations of Vietnamese migrants (Martínková, 2008). Contrary to the 1st generation, the children are intensely confronted by Czech culture and society, which leads to different negotiating strategies. This contributes to cultural dualism, especially in the case of children forming identities which differentiate them from their parents (Kušniráková Tran Vu, Plačková, 2013; Vasiljev, 1999). The acculturation gap between children and parents can lead to a transgenerational conflict (Janská, Průšvicová, Čermák, 2011). Gender relationships and roles within the family are the key aspect of contemporary changes (George, 2005, Erel, 2009). Through the perspective and analytical category of gender this ethnographic research studies how Vietnamese mothers and their daughters negotiate mutual transgenerational relationships. The research focuses on the narrative understanding of maternal practices of bringing up children that are used by Vietnamese mothers to control the agency of their daughters, their gender roles, sexuality and morality, while also looking at how they attempt to build a sense of belonging. It turns out...