The study explores the motivations and experiences of young single women migrating to work in the garment and footwear industries in Vietnam and the impact of migration on their lives and future prospects. The key issues investigated were the impact on the young women's working lives, their material and emotional well-being, agency and empowerment and personal life trajectories. Based on a questionnaire survey and interviews with young women factory workers in Hanoi, the research found that young women are motivated by the desire for a stable income and the lack of alternative employment options in rural areas, which are constrained by gendered patterns of vocational training and labour market opportunities. Migration into factory work brings young women increased incomes and opportunities for empowerment through a broadening of their horizons. As a result of migration young women gain confidence and increased capacity to achieve their personal life goals, and as such, are empowered by the experience. Their marriage opportunities, however, are limited by factory employment and this places young women at odds with the expectations of their families and rural tradition. How women negotiate this divergence from traditional work and marriage expectations in Vietnam has mixed implications for young women's well-being and empowerment, and calls for a reconsideration of the nature of women's empowerment as represented in gender and development discourse.
| Identifer | oai:union.ndltd.org:ADTP/210464 |
| Date | January 2008 |
| Creators | Bowen, Ruth, ruthb@fpt.vn |
| Publisher | RMIT University. Global Studies, Social Science and Planning |
| Source Sets | Australiasian Digital Theses Program |
| Language | English |
| Detected Language | English |
| Rights | http://www.rmit.edu.au/help/disclaimer, Copyright Ruth Bowen |
Page generated in 0.0019 seconds