Publication: How to Design the Vietnam Labor Code to Improve Gender Equality
Loading...
Date
2019-05-01
ISSN
Published
2019-05-01
Author(s)
Editor(s)
Abstract
Vietnam is in the process of updating its Labor Code of 2012. This advisory note is designed to inform a dialog on opportunities for how the 2012 Labor Code can be adjusted to balance the playing field between men and women so that they have equal access to and equal benefits from the labor market. It does so with to objective to support the gender assessment of new laws as stipulated by the Vietnam Promulgation of Laws of 2015. The advisory note draws on analysis carried out by the task team and under the World Bank’s Vietnam Jobs Diagnostic. This advisory note is follow-up to a workshop hosted by the Social Affairs Committee of the Vietnam National Assembly and The World Bank on January 11, 2019, for members of the Social Affairs Committee and other National Assembly representatives. After the workshop the Committee and Social Affairs Department of the National Assembly asked for a write up of the recommendation made at the workshop. The recommendations and the workshop were carried out as part of the Vietnam Women’s Economic Empowerment Project under the Australia-World Bank Group Strategic Partnership Program 2 (ABP2). The project is supporting the Government of Vietnam on its efforts to ensure that gender is addressed in legislation, including for example, the Labor Code.
Link to Data Set
Citation
“World Bank Group. 2019. How to Design the Vietnam Labor Code to Improve Gender Equality. © World Bank. http://hdl.handle.net/10986/31771 License: CC BY 3.0 IGO.”
Associated URLs
Associated content
Other publications in this report series
Journal
Journal Volume
Journal Issue
Collections
Related items
Showing items related by metadata.
Publication The Gender Implications of Public Sector Downsizing : The Reform Program of Vietnam(World Bank, 2002-09-01)Using data from Vietnam, this article describes several types of analysis that can be conducted before launching a major downsizing operation to identify possible gender effects. It draws several conclusions about Vietnam s downsizing reforms. First, although women s prospects of obtaining salaried jobs following displacement from state-owned enterprise worsened as a result of recent reforms, they are likely to improve in the near future. Second, reforms are associated with a sharp decline in the gender gap in earnings, both in and outside the state sector. Third, overstaffing is greatest in sectors in which most employees are men, such as construction, mining, and transportation; it is much less prevalent in sectors in which women dominate the work force, such as footwear, textiles, and garments. Fourth, training, and assistance programs to help redundant workers reveal no evidence of strong gender bias. Fifth, severance packages based on a multiple of earnings are more favorable to men, whereas lump sum packages favor women.Publication Opening Doors : Gender Equality and Development in the Middle East and North Africa(Washington, DC, 2013-02-06)Since the early 1990s, countries in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA) Region have made admirable progress in reducing the gap between girls and boys in areas such as access to education and health care. Indeed, almost all young girls in the Region attend school, and more women than men are enrolled in university. Over the past two decades, maternal mortality declined 60 percent, the largest decrease in the world. Women in MENA are more educated than ever before. It is not only in the protest squares that have seen women whose aspirations are changing rapidly but increasingly unmet. The worldwide average for the participation of women in the workforce is approximately 50 percent. In MENA, their participation is half that at 25 percent. Facing popular pressure to be more open and inclusive, some governments in the region are considering and implementing electoral and constitutional reforms to deepen democracy. These reforms present an opportunity to enhance economic, social, and political inclusion for all, including women, who make up half the population. However, the outlook remains uncertain. Finally, there are limited private sector and entrepreneurial prospects not only for jobs but also for those women who aspire to create and run a business. These constraints present multiple challenges for reform. Each country in MENA will, of course, confront these constraints in different contexts. However, inherent in many of these challenges are rich opportunities as reforms unleash new economic actors. For the private sector, the challenge is to create more jobs for young women and men. The World Bank has been pursuing an exciting pilot program in Jordan to assist young women graduates in preparing to face the work environment.Publication Women, Business and the Law 2010 : Measuring Legal Gender Parity for Entrepreneurs and Workers in 128 Economies(Washington, DC, 2010)This report presents indicators based on laws and regulations affecting women's prospects as entrepreneurs and employees. Several of these indicators draw on the Gender Law Library, a collection of over 2,000 legal provisions impacting women's economic status. Both resources can inform research and policy discussions on how to improve women's economic opportunities and outcomes. The six indicators of gender differences in formal laws and institutions established in this report include: 1) accessing institutions, 2 ) using prpoerty, 3) getting a job, 4) dealing with taxes, 5) building credit, and 6) going to court. The first 3 indicators (accessing institutions, using property, and getting a job) capture laws that have direct gender dimensions and are based on a reading of such laws from the perspective of individual women. The 4th indicator (dealing with taxes) examines the direct and indirect gender implications of tax policy from the perspective of 4 standardized families with varying tax liabilities. The last 2 indicators (building credit and going to court) examine the ease of access to credit bureaus and courts to examine the indirect effects that microfinance institutions and dispute resolution have on women, who are more likely to rely on nontraditional financial services.Publication Belarus : Country Gender Profile(Washington, DC, 2014-03-03)Belarus demonstrated strong economic growth 2000-2008 and this translated into fast poverty reduction. Belarus invested a lot in the human capital of its population both in men and women. This assessment identifies and describes main gender disparities in Belarus in agency, education, health, and access to economic opportunities. The report builds on the framework of the World Bank's regional gender report, Europe and Central Asia: opportunities for men and women, as well as the World development report on gender and development. The assessment takes a quantitative approach using a wide range of different international data sources including World Bank's world development indicators, the global financial inclusion database, the life in transition survey, European Bank for Reconstruction and Development (EBRD)-World Bank business environment and enterprise performance survey as well as local household living standards survey. The report is organized as follows: section one discusses agency and describes factors which may shape the process how men and women use their endowments and utilize economic opportunities to achieve desired outcomes. The second section analyzes gender disparities in endowments, such as health and education. The third section focuses on gender gaps in the labor market, entrepreneurship and earnings, access to finance and poverty. The fourth section presents conclusions and policy recommendations.Publication Gender Inequality in the Labor Market in Serbia(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2012-03)This paper presents a broad overview of labor market indicators for men and women in Serbia with a focus on employment patterns, entrepreneurship and career advancement as well as earnings differentials. The analysis relies primarily on the results of the Labor Force Surveys conducted in Serbia in April 2008 and October 2009. The findings show that although the overall labor market situation in Serbia is difficult, women are in a much more disadvantageous position than men. Women are much less likely to be employed, start a business or advance in the political arena. Furthermore, there is a significant wage gap between men and women in a number of sectors and occupational groups with low educated women being particularly disadvantaged. The results of the Oaxaca-Blinder decomposition demonstrate that the wage gap is indicative of discrimination of women in the labor market as earnings differentials cannot be explained by differences in observed characteristics of male and female employees. Based on the obtained results, the paper outlines four broad areas that require the attention of policy-makers: employment generation; enhancement of education outcomes; improvement of the regulatory environment and support to women's business and political careers; and promotion of transparent performance setting mechanisms.
Users also downloaded
Showing related downloaded files
Publication Ten Steps to a Results-Based Monitoring and Evaluation System : A Handbook for Development Practitioners(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2004)An effective state is essential to achieving socio-economic and sustainable development. With the advent of globalization, there are growing pressures on governments and organizations around the world to be more responsive to the demands of internal and external stakeholders for good governance, accountability and transparency, greater development effectiveness, and delivery of tangible results. Governments, parliaments, citizens, the private sector, Non-governmental Organizations (NGOs), civil society, international organizations, and donors are among the stakeholders interested in better performance. As demands for greater accountability and real results have increased, there is an attendant need for enhanced results-based monitoring and evaluation of policies, programs, and projects. This handbook provides a comprehensive ten-step model that will help guide development practitioners through the process of designing and building a results-based monitoring and evaluation system. These steps begin with a 'readiness assessment' and take the practitioner through the design, management, and importantly, the sustainability of such systems. The handbook describes each step in detail, the tasks needed to complete each one, and the tools available to help along the way.Publication Zimbabwe(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2019-03-01)This report presents an assessment of Zimbabwe’s agriculture sector disaster risk and management capacity. The findings indicate that Zimbabwe is highly exposed to agricultural risks and has limited capacity to manage risk at various levels. The report shows that disaster-related shocks along Zimbabwe’s agricultural supply chains directly translate to volatility in agricultural GDP. Such shocks have a substantial impact on economic growth, food security, and fiscal balance. When catastrophic disasters occur, the economy absorbs the shocks, without benefiting from any instruments that transfer the risk to markets and coping ability. The increasing prevalence of ‘shock recovery-shock’ cycles impairs Zimbabwe’s ability to plan and pursue a sustainable development path. The findings presented here confirm that it is highly pertinent for Zimbabwe to strengthen the capacity to manage risk at various levels, from the smallholder farmer, to other participants along the supply chain, to consumers (who require a reliable, safe food supply), and ultimately to the government to manage natural disasters. The assessment provides the following evidence on sources of risks and plausible risk management solutions. It is our hope that the report contributes to action by the Government of Zimbabwe to adopt a proactive and integrated risk management strategy appropriate to the current structure of the agricultural sector.Publication Supporting Youth at Risk(World Bank, Washington, DC, 2008)The World Bank has produced this policy Toolkit in response to a growing demand from our government clients and partners for advice on how to create and implement effective policies for at-risk youth. The author has highlighted 22 policies (six core policies, nine promising policies, and seven general policies) that have been effective in addressing the following five key risk areas for young people around the world: (i) youth unemployment, underemployment, and lack of formal sector employment; (ii) early school leaving; (iii) risky sexual behavior leading to early childbearing and HIV/AIDS; (iv) crime and violence; and (v) substance abuse. The objective of this Toolkit is to serve as a practical guide for policy makers in middle-income countries as well as professionals working within the area of youth development on how to develop and implement an effective policy portfolio to foster healthy and positive youth development.Publication World Development Report 2019(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2019)Work is constantly reshaped by technological progress. New ways of production are adopted, markets expand, and societies evolve. But some changes provoke more attention than others, in part due to the vast uncertainty involved in making predictions about the future. The 2019 World Development Report will study how the nature of work is changing as a result of advances in technology today. Technological progress disrupts existing systems. A new social contract is needed to smooth the transition and guard against rising inequality. Significant investments in human capital throughout a person’s lifecycle are vital to this effort. If workers are to stay competitive against machines they need to train or retool existing skills. A social protection system that includes a minimum basic level of protection for workers and citizens can complement new forms of employment. Improved private sector policies to encourage startup activity and competition can help countries compete in the digital age. Governments also need to ensure that firms pay their fair share of taxes, in part to fund this new social contract. The 2019 World Development Report presents an analysis of these issues based upon the available evidence.Publication The Power of Survey Design : A User's Guide for Managing Surveys, Interpreting Results, and Influencing Respondents(Washington, DC: World Bank, 2006)The vast majority of data used for economic research, analysis, and policy design comes from surveys-surveys of households, firms, schools, hospitals, and market participants, and, the accuracy of the estimate will depend on how well the survey is done. This innovative book is both a 'how-to' go about carrying out high-quality surveys, especially in the challenging environment of developing countries, and a 'user's guide' for anyone who uses statistical data. Reading this book will provide data users with a wealth of insight into what kinds of problems, or biases to look for in different data sources, based on the underlying survey approaches that were used to generate the data. In that sense the book is an invaluable 'skeptics guide to data'. Yet, the broad storyline of the book is something that should be absorbed by statistical data users. The book will teach and show how difficult it often is to obtain reliable estimates of important social and economic facts, and, therefore encourages you to approach all estimates with sensible caution.