67980 EAST ASIA AND PACIFIC REGION Social Development Notes I N N O VATI O N S , LE S S O N S , A N D B E ST P R A CTI C E Building Capacity to Make Transport Work for Women and Men in Vietnam Gender and Transport Challenges Women and men use rural and urban transport for different purposes based on their socially determined roles and responsibilities. Poor rural transport systems limit access to markets, edu- cation, and health services for all, but even more so for women and girls. Female mobility is often constrained by heavy domestic work-loads and time spent traveling by foot, carrying heavy loads over rough trails. Time poverty combines with cultural restrictions to limit women’s and girls’ economic, educational opportunities and participation in community decision-making, particularly for ethnic minority women in remote mountainous areas. Gender differences in mobility and access are also affected by ability to pay for transport services. Most women have more limited access to financial and other resources, and inadequate voice in local level transport priority setting than men.1 It is essential to address these gender gaps in transport access and 1 Asian Development Bank (ADB) 2002. Country Briefing Paper: Women in Vietnam; 2003. Vietnam: Gender Situation Analysis. Women Walk and Use Bikes More Than Men Motorbike Female Male Bike Walk 0 20 40 60 80 100 GAP funded gender equality as smart economics A World Bank Group Gender Action Plan 2 East asia and Pacific REgion — social dEvEloPmEnt notEs mobility because gender-based inequalities slow Males, females, and infrastructure are likely to down economic growth and poverty reduction.2 be significantly impacted by climate change, due to Vietnam’s long coastline, high depen- Women tend to walk and use non-motorized dence on agriculture, and relatively low levels transport more than men. A survey in the Mekong of development in rural areas. Women and eth- Delta in 2010 found that women’s travel times are nic minorities are among the most vulnerable longer because they walk or use bikes more than to the negative impacts of increased flooding, men, even though men travel somewhat longer dis- drought, and more severe storms associated tances. Women make more journeys per month to with climate change.7 collect fuel and travel to farms and markets, while men make more journeys to telephone and postal Despite the strong commitment by Vietnam- facilities.3 Urban areas in Vietnam are growing rap- ese Government to women’s empowerment in idly as is traffic congestion and air pollution. all economic sectors, reflected in policies and legal frameworks, and remarkable progress in Motorcycles are most frequently used. Only 10 girls’ education and women’s employment 8, percent travel on public transport but numbers are until recently there has been limited progress increasing.4 Women use public transport more than in translating these policies into practice in men. Many women travel during non-peak hours transport. The new National Gender Strategy off main routes completing several tasks in con- attributes the gap between gender policy and nected trips known as trip chaining. In a single trip practice in many sectors to lack of capacity and they may take children to school or health services action by central and provincial government and visit relatives travel on their way to markets to agencies as well as the lack of a monitoring and sell goods or their workplace. Trip chaining makes evaluation system.9 public transport more expensive and time consum- ing for women even though most have more limited capacity to pay fares than men. Personal security and Putting Policy into Practice traffic safety are usually greater concerns for women & Enhancing the Capacity than men because women often travel with children. of Decision-makers and With arms full of packages and attending to chil- Implementers dren’s needs, women are more vulnerable to acci- The Ministry of Transport Committee for the dents and crimes as well as gender-based violence.5 Advancement of Women is striving to address the New transnational road corridors in the region have gap between gender equality policy and practice facilitated escalating HIV/AIDS transmission and through awareness raising and capacity build- trafficking of women and girls.6 ing at the national and grass roots levels as well 2 World Bank. 2010. Mainstreaming Gender in Road Transport. as gender-informed monitoring and evaluation Operational Guidance for World Bank Staff. Transport Paper and integration of gender and transport into the 28; World Bank 2002, Engendering Development through national training institute curriculum. Gender Equality in Rig hts, Resources, and Voice; and 2006. Gender Equality as Smart Economics: A World Bank Gender The Ministry of Transport Committee for Action Plan. 3 The number of extra journeys made by women or men for the Advancement of Women and the World Bank different tasks also varies across different communities. Hai, Do Phu. 2010. Addressing Gender Issues in the Mekong Delta and Northern Delta Transport Monitoring and Evaluation. 7 World Bank. 2010. Social Dimensions of Adaptation to Presentation at the Ministry of Transport and World Bank Climate Change. Workshops on Making Transport Women and Men. Hanoi 8 The gender gap in primary, secondary and tertiary schooling and Ho Chi Minh City. has been closed and even reversed. Compared to other 4 World Bank 2017. Hanoi Urban Transport Project Appraisal countries in the region, Vietnam has high relative rates of female Document. labor participation and female representation in the National 5 Kunieda, Mika and Aimee Gautier. 2007. Gender and Urban Assembly. Overall, based on the Gender Development Index, Transport: Smart and Affordable. GTZ. Vietnam has risen from the low middle-rank group in 1999 6 ADB 2005. Vietnam: Gender Situation Analysis; no date Lao to the upper middle-rank group last year (World Bank. 2011 People’s Democratic Republic East-West Corridor Project, 1999– Vietnam Country Gender Action Plan). Reconsidering Highway Traffic: Women, Children and HIV/AIDs. 9 Vietnam Gender Equality Policy cited in World Bank. 2011. [http://www.adb.org/gender/practices/infrastructure/lao001.asp.] Vietnam Country Gender Action Plan. I n n ovat I o n s, L e s s o n s, a n d B e s t P r a c t I c e 3 held workshops on Gender and Transport in contracting firms were reluctant to take their Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City in October 2010. equipment. Women and a few men road workers The Vice Minister of Transport supported the received wages to cut trees, shrubs and grasses; workshops because they focused on transport clear culverts and drains; fill pot-holes; and clean realities rather than broad gender issues and roadsides on 51 kilometers of roads in four com- featured transport specialists as speakers on munes. The Vietnam Women’s Union managed entry points for addressing gender in transport. and monitored the recruitment of the road work- In Hanoi, participants included ministry staff ers and the Provincial Department of Transport ranging from national level decision-makers to (P/DOT) provided hands-on road maintenance provincial level Department of Transport staff. capacity building. They learned about basic road In Ho Chi Minh City, participants represented classification, bridges, spillways, construction a larger proportion of provincial Department of and development of rural roads systems, and Transport staff. Participatory capacity building community responsibilities for rural road main- activities aimed to increase awareness of gender tenance. Ethnic minority language barriers posed and transport issues, entry points for assess- challenges that trainers addressed through dem- ing and addressing gender and social issues in onstrations and hands on road maintenance and transport, and effective approaches for integrat- repair practice. ing gender in transport in Vietnam, drawing on good practice cases from around the world. An impact evaluation of the pilot found that road Small group problem solving activities included maintenance provided accessibility to previously use of a rapid gender review tool and discussions isolated communities and increased commu- on approaches to address gender and transport nity awareness of the importance of road main- issues that emerged. tenance. Income earned by women road work- ers contributed to family livelihoods, enabled Third Rural Transport Project (RTP3) applied women to invest in their children’s education, and lessons from the October 2010 training in increased their voice in community and house- launching a Climate Resilience for Rural Roads hold decision-making. Coordination between the and a Greener Roads initiative with support Women’s Union and P/DOT was critical to the from the Global Fund for Disaster Reduction success of the pilot.11 and Recovery. Gender differences in risks and adaptive strategies will be integrated into these Based on these impressive outcomes, the pilot was efforts. RTP3 conducted a capacity building extended. In March 2011, the Women’s Union event in May 2011 for Provincial Management and P/DOT conducted several capacity building Units and trainers from transport training events for provincial and district officials on plan- institutes. They explored greener transport, ning and managing local road maintenance, road gender and community participation, road safety, and more effective communication with maintenance by ethnic women, and gender local communities. They also conducted work- mainstreaming, in addition to climate resistant shops for members of the Women’s Union Execu- roads and road trials. Research on gender and greener transport is underway and pilots will be 11Tran, Phuong Thi Minh. 2010. Paths to Development: Ethnic launch in selected provinces. Minority Women Rehabilitate Bac Ha Roads. Presentation for Ministry of Transport and World Bank workshops on “Making Transport Work for Women and Men� held in Hanoi Building Community Capacity and Ho Chi Minh City October 26 and 28; Tran, Phuong Thi for Road Maintenance Minh, Nguen Thi Hien and Le Ngoc Hung. 2010. Report on the Assessment of the Social Impact and Cost Effectiveness Local women as well as men can effectively main- of Rural Road Maintenance with Local Women’s Participation tain roads. A pilot10 implemented in 2010, under and Its Impacts on their Household and Community RTP3, trained 1,533 minority women to main- Livelihoods. Report prepared for the World Bank; Pathways tain roads in remote, mountainous areas where to Development: Empowering Local Women to Build a More Equitable Future in Vietnam. Vietnam Country Office; Hien, Nguen Thi. 2011. Women’s Participation in RRM Lao Cai, Bac 10 The pilot project was funded by a World Bank Gender Ha District Inceptional Assessment. Presented at the May Action Plan (GAP) “Just in Time� Grant. Workshop on Creating Resilient Rural Roads. 4 East asia and Pacific REgion — social dEvEloPmEnt notEs tive Board, heads of villages and village steering building targets, baseline data collection, and committees. Plans are underway to create a joint the work plan. Enhancements to the baseline fund to further extend this initiative with greater survey design included gathering data on poor emphasis on skills training and facilitation of women and men at the bottom of the supply resources and materials to optimize women’s’ chain already targeted for socioeconomic bene- involvement as well as the effectiveness of road fits, collection of data on trip chaining, and mea- maintenance. DFID, ADB and AUSAID have all surement of women’s and men’s travel to main expressed support.12 supply corridors. The baseline included a logis- tics review which initially focused on large ship- Developing Gender-informed ping businesses. The study expanded to include Monitoring and Evaluation sex disaggregated employment and management Effective, monitoring and evaluation is essen- data and focus group discussions examining tial to ensure that the gender informed aspects logistics issues of poor women and men farmers of project designs are actually implemented and and traders. impacts on both women and men are measured. Toward this end, the Mekong Delta and Northern Preliminary results of the baseline studies for Delta transport infrastructure projects received the Mekong Delta area revealed that women in technical support through the Capacity Building the project areas have lower levels of education for Mainstreaming Gender in Transport Projects and comprise nearly 79 percent of the unskilled (MGTP) Initiative.13 workforce. Men constitute 71 percent of the employees in transport logistics employees and A review of the implementation plan for the 74 percent of the managers; women’s incomes Mekong Delta Project revealed that people were are lower than men’s. Men have more informa- only considered in results indicators for resettle- tion about transport projects than. Men pre- ment. Most of the measures focused on road and dominate in project decision-making and super- waterway infrastructure and flow of traffic and vision. Women’s are mainly involved in project goods. Key entry points proposed for address- implementation. Twenty percent of the men ing gender during implementation included and 35 percent of the women did not know how stakeholder analysis, the results framework and HIV/AIDS was transmitted.14 These results will indicators, target group definitions, capacity be monitored after project implementation to assess its impact. 12 Tuan, Phan Manh. A Model of Community Based Rural Road Maintenance. World Bank 2011. Draft May Mission Aide Memoire. Hanoi. 14 Hai, Do Phu. 2010. Addressing Gender Issues in the 13 MGTP was funded by a World Bank Gender Action Plan Mekong Delta and Northern Delta Transport Monitoring and grant. Evaluation. Men Are More Involved in Project Decision Making and Supervision, Women Are More Involved in Implementation Discussion & decision making Implementation Supervision Female Male I n n ovat I o n s, L e s s o n s, a n d B e s t P r a c t I c e 5 Integrating Gender and Transport in the able after workshops to help clarify con- National Training Curriculum cepts and approaches, provide additional An additional outcome of the gender and trans- resources and case examples, and maintain port workshops in Hanoi and Ho Chi Minh City the momentum generated. was the decision to integrate gender and transport 77 Partnership and coordination between into the rural transport training curriculum to provincial departments of transport and facilitate institutionalization of gender-informed the women’s union is critical to the success analysis and approaches in the transport sector of grass roots road maintenance by ethnic in the longer term. RTP3 is developing training minority women. materials and conducting training of trainers to 77 Local road maintenance, erosions pre- strengthen the institutional planning, program- vention, and other community works ming, budgeting and procurement process for employment opportunities for women as rural road improvement and maintenance at the well men can help reduce poverty, par- provincial level. Integration of gender and trans- ticularly where income earning opportu- port into these materials builds on the October nities are limited. 2010 workshop training and includes new topic- 77 Gender informed monitoring and evalua- specific components for courses such as safe- tion capacity building is a critical process guards, environmental management, road safety, needed to ensure that policy translates into procurement, road maintenance planning, imple- gender-informed design, actions and posi- mentation and monitoring. tive results. It is important to recognize that this is a long term process. Participating training institutions include: the 77 To institutionalize the integration of gen- Training Institute for Transport Administration der into transport programs: and Management, the Central Transport Pro- 47 Support from ministry leaders and fessional Training School, the Central Trans- advice and support from external port College, the Southern Transport College, organizations is important. Northern Transport Vocational School, and 47 It is critical to incorporate gender Northern Transport College. Based on a needs into the curricula for future trans- assessment, course topics at the national level port leaders and implementers. include: rural roads maintenance management system; planning and budgeting; procurement of works; environmental management; social The Way Forward safe guards; road safety; and feasibility studies; The Vice Minister for Human Resources at the At the provincial level course topics include: Ministry of Transport urged participants in the rural road design; rural roads maintenance October 2010 workshop to support efforts to planning and execution. increase attention to gender in transport and enhance women’s leadership roles in national and provincial departments, transport institutes Lessons Learned and universities, and at the grass roots level. He 77 Gender and Transport capacity building also recommended developing an action plan and needs to be grounded in practical, on-the communications campaign to raise public aware- ground country realities in the transport ness of gender and transport issues, particularly sector and draw on the experience of for traffic and pedestrian safety and waterway transport specialists who have addressed passenger safety. His call to action and the sub- gender in their work or clearly understand sequent integration of gender into the climate the entry points. change initiative training and the rural trans- 77 Participatory gender and transport capac- port curriculum, as well as the strong interest ity building that provides opportunities in expanding the ethnic minority women’s road for applying what is learned to transport maintenance initiative, all bode well for future problems is more effective than a lecture progress in making transport work for both format. Follow up with participants is valu- women and men in Vietnam. Building a strong, 6 East asia and Pacific REgion — social dEvEloPmEnt notEs gender-informed monitoring and evaluation sys- Continued collaboration among donors such as tem will be important to assess that progress. the World Bank, AusAID and other development The World Bank and the Ministry of Transport partners with the Government of Vietnam is nec- will continue their strong partnership, with Bank essary to achieve this goal. support for capacity building in monitoring and evaluation and other areas needed to mainstream appropriate gender informed design and moni- Contact toring into all transport projects in the future. Mari Clarke, Consultant, MNSTR: 202-473-5107