When Nguyen Thu Hang was a child, h

When Nguyen Thu Hang was a child, her mother was a housewife in a small village whose women residents had no say in decision-making, either at home or in the community.

The AAA Insurance Company in HCMC. An increasing number of women have education, careers and status in society, unlike in the past

Now a mother herself, Hang not only shares her husband’s burden of earning money for the family and bringing up children, but also has career and social ambitions.

“Women are much happier than before. They have good education and careers of their own,” says the 39-year-old who lives and works in Hanoi.

“And, of course, they are more respected in the family and society.

Hang, who carries a sleek laptop in her hand, gets out of an elegant black Mercedes and enters a building where she works as the general director of Viet Hoang Trade and Investment Company, which specializes in construction and real estate.

Like Hang, many other Vietnamese women too pursue careers these days and have stormed the corporate boardroom to affirm their increasingly important roles.

Whether in remote farms or in companies, they have become much more self-confident, and are discovering their worth and fulfilling their potential.

“Vietnamese women have made important contributions to socio-economic development, especially in poverty reduction,” Vice Chairwoman of the Vietnam Women’s Union Nguyen Thi Kim Thuy says, adding that during the course of the country’s renovation process in the last 20 years, they have recorded great accomplishments in many spheres.

Women account for nearly 52 percent of the workforce in the services sector, 50 percent in the agricultural and fisheries sector and 37 percent in industry and construction.

Almost a fourth of all companies are run by women, many of whom are also the driving forces behind them.

Many women hold important posts in the state and party organizations.

They account for almost 26 percent of deputies in the National Assembly, Thuy says, adding they also make up 24 percent of provincial people’s councils, and 23 percent of district people’s councils, referring to the local legislatures.

As for their status in the family, Hang says the woman’s position has improved remarkably.

“We jointly decide important issues in our life such as work or education for our children. My husband always respects my opinions.”

She recalls her mother never had a voice in such issues.

Now, women hold the purse strings in many households.

“My father hands over his salary to my mother and then asks her for money when he needs it,” says 20-year-old economics student Nguyen Huy Dung.

The greater role of women is attributed to the effective policies on promoting them.

The state and party are interested in women’s advancement, Thuy says, pointing out that the NA, the national legislature, has approved the Law on Gender Equality and the Anti-Domestic Violence Law.

The government has national programs for vocational training and preventing trafficking of women and children, she says.

Women’s own efforts to acquire knowledge and education have, of course, been a major factor in their advancement.

They make up over 40.2 percent of all university graduates and upwards, Thuy notes, including nearly 9.8 percent of Ph.D’s and 30.5 percent of master’s degree recipients.

But women still face a number of difficulties, including poverty, underemployment, domestic violence, prostitution, and gender inequality, Thuy admits.

“I think the best way to help women overcome these challenges is to help them study and lead an active lifestyle,” says Hang, whose entry into the boardroom began after she obtained a master’s degree in Britain at the age of 27.