TTLA: Basic conditions to ensure women's advancement in Party and government agencies in Tuyen Quang

INFORMATION ABOUT DOCTORAL THESIS

1. Full name of the researcher:Do Thi Thanh Huong

2. Gender: Female

3. Date of birth: April 16, 1974;

4. Place of birth: Yen Nguyen Commune, Chiem Hoa District, Tuyen Quang Province.

5. Decision on recognition of PhD student No. 1386/QD-SDH dated December 26, 2012 by the President of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi.

6. Changes in the training process: Decision No. 699/QD-SDH dated October 13, 2015 of the University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi issued on adjusting the name of the doctoral thesis.

7. Thesis title:Basic conditions to ensure women's advancement in Party and government agencies in Tuyen Quang.

8. Major: Sociology Code: 62.31.30.01

9. Scientific instructor:Assoc.Prof.Dr. Pham Van Quyet.

10. Summary of new results of the thesis:

In Tuyen Quang, during the period 2005-2013, the proportion of women participating in Party committees and authorities at the provincial, district and communal levels was higher than the national average. The number of women who were heads and deputy heads of departments, branches and sectors at the provincial level was quite high. However, the highest leadership positions in Party agencies and authorities at the provincial and district levels were mainly held by men. At the communal level, the proportion of women participating in leadership and management was still low, mainly in the leadership of the Fatherland Front and mass organizations. In Party agencies and authorities, women mainly held deputy positions. In some remote, isolated and disadvantaged communes, women were only present in the position of chairperson of the women's union.

Female cadres, civil servants and public employees working in areas with developed socio-economic conditions often have more opportunities to receive advanced training, so the opportunity to be included in planning and appointment is higher than female cadres, civil servants and public employees working in areas with difficult economic conditions, remote areas, and ethnic minority areas.

- Implementing gender equality policies is the most important condition for the advancement of female cadres, civil servants and public employees, including:

+ Leadership planning and appointment: Tuyen Quang has carried out staff planning before appointing leadership positions. When planning leadership positions, the proportion of men is often higher than that of women. One of the reasons is that not many female cadres and civil servants fully meet the prescribed standards (professional qualifications, political theory, state management and leadership ability, etc.). However, among those who have been planned, the proportion of women appointed is higher than the proportion of men in the planning who have been appointed. Because, many women, when planned, always have a sense of striving, responsibility for work, good moral cultivation, good lifestyle, are trusted by colleagues, and trusted by superiors to decide on leadership appointments.

+ Training and development: Training to improve the capacity and skills of female cadres and civil servants is still limited. To increase their chances of promotion, women must be trained in professional skills, political theory, state management, leadership and presentation skills.

- One of the conditions for promotion is that women must regularly practice ethics and lifestyle, know how to care and help colleagues, have prestige, be supported by colleagues and superiors, and have a high chance of promotion. Moreover, women need to have strong political will, promote the ability to create, orient, and complete assigned tasks well.

- Family conditions play an important role in promoting women's advancement. Families with members who are responsible for participating in economic development, and women who are not the main breadwinners, will pay more attention to investing time and money in studying, researching, improving qualifications, and personal development. On the other hand, with better economic conditions, women will have the opportunity to help colleagues, expand personal relationships, expand social capital, and create relationships with more partners.

- Gender stereotypes and prejudices still exist in society, negatively affecting women's advancement. Many people still do not appreciate women's efforts and abilities. Many women are often content with their lot and do not have the confidence to take on leadership and management roles. On the other hand, in many families, women have to take on the main role in housework and family care, so the time invested in office work is limited. Propagating and organizing the implementation of gender equality policies will help the community have a correct understanding of women's abilities and capacities, creating conditions for women to strive for advancement. Along with that, women themselves must have a spirit of confidence and effort, which will be the basis for advancement.

11. Practical application

The first,Research in Tuyen Quang shows that, to promote women's advancement, Party committees and authorities need to organize gender equality policies well, creating conditions for women to participate in processes such as: recruitment, acceptance to work in agencies and units; organize and create conditions for women to participate in full training in expertise, political theory, state management and leadership and presentation skills; include in planning and consider for appointment if women fully meet the factors and standards for suitable leadership positions. Doing well the above contents, the rate of women participating in Party committees and authorities, holding leadership positions will reach a high rate, including key leadership positions at the provincial and district levels).

Monday,In life, reaching a higher position, having a better job, higher income, better quality of material and spiritual life (promotion - vertical social mobility) is the desire of many people, including many women. Research shows that one of the ways to achieve that goal is that each female cadre, civil servant, and public employee must regularly be aware of practicing good ethics and lifestyle; promote the ability to create and orient to complete the tasks of the agency or unit well; know how to care and help colleagues, have prestige, and be supported by colleagues and superiors, from which women will have more opportunities to succeed. If the majority of women are aware and consciously strive to do well in these aspects, the opportunity for success will come to many women.

Tuesday,Research shows that one of the conditions for women to advance is to have favorable conditions, spiritual support, sharing of housework, and shared responsibility in building the economy of family members. If each member of the family is aware of and implements these contents well, the opportunity for women to advance in their family will be high.

Wednesday,Research shows that gender stereotypes still exist in society, which is one of the factors that hinder women's advancement. To limit gender stereotypes and create conditions for women to advance, each person in society must gradually eliminate negative stereotypes against women; must correctly assess the true nature of each person's abilities and capacities, thereby supporting and creating conditions for women to develop their intelligence, abilities, and contribute to society.

Thus, to promote the advancement of women, there must be synchronous coordination between Party committees and authorities at all levels in implementing gender equality policies and for the advancement of women. Each woman herself must also make real efforts in training and self-cultivation to be recognized by society. Family members and society need to eliminate prejudices, correctly perceive women's abilities, and create conditions for women to develop their abilities to contribute their strength and intelligence to society.

12. Further research directions

- Assessing the awareness of ethnic minority women residing in particularly difficult communes about women's political participation.

- Solutions to increase women's participation in implementing movements launched by the Women's Union.

13. Published works related to the thesis:

Do Thi Thanh Huong (2012), “Social work on gender equality in leadership and management in Tuyen Quang”,Proceedings of the International Conference on Sharing International Experiences on Social Work and Social Security, Hanoi, pp. 361-367.

Do Thi Thanh Huong (2014), "Female commune-level cadres in Tuyen Quang city",Proceedings of the Scientific Conference for Young Cadres and Postgraduate Students, University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Vietnam National University, Hanoi, pp.709-722.

Do Thi Thanh Huong (2015), “On the promotion of female cadres and civil servants in their work” (case of Tuyen Quang province), Journal of Social Science Information(8), pp. 23-30.

DOCTORAL THESIS SUMMARY

1. Name of Doctoral Candidate: Do Thi Thanh Huong2. Sex: Female.

3. Date of Birth: 16^thApril 1974.4. Place of Birth: Yen Nguyen Commune, Chiem Hoa District, Tuyen Quang Province.

5. Admission decision number: 1386/QD-SĐH, dated December 26^th, 2012, issued by the Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University.

6. Changes in academic process: Decision on changing the thesis title, Decision number: 699/QD-SDH, dated October 13^th, 2015 issued by the Rector of University of Social Sciences and Humanities, Hanoi National University.

7. Official thesis title: Basic requisites for women's promotion in the Communist Party's and the authorities' offices in Tuyen Quang.

8. Major: Sociology ; Code: 62.31.30.01

9. Supervisor: Associate Professor Ph.D Pham Van Quyet.

10. Summary of the new finding of the thesis:

The female/male ratio in Communist Party leadership and authorities at the provincial, district and commune levels in Tuyen Quang from 2005 to 2013 were higher than the national average ones in the same period. Many heads and Deputy heads of provincial departments and agencies were women. However, men prevailed at the top positions in the Communist Party and district and provincial authorities. At the commune level, few women occupied leadership and management positions which included dominated those of the Fatherland Front and mass organizations. Most women held Deputy positions in the Communist Party and authorities. Worse still, some remote and disadvantageous communes had no female leaders but chairpersons of their Women's Unions only.

In contrast to those who worked in economically difficult, remote or ethnic minority areas, female officials and public servants working in the locations with economic advantages often had more training opportunities. Therefore, they were more likely to receive training support and be appointed to higher positions.

- The implementation of the gender equity policy was the most important requisite for the promotion of female officials and public servants, including:

+ Leadership development and planning appointment: Tuyen Quang made staff master-plan before appointing people to leadership positions. Generally, more men than women were selected to be candidates for leadership. This was partly because not many female officers and public servants met the selection criteria (ie professional qualifications, political qualification, public management and leadership skills, and others). However, the rate for candidates being appointed was higher in women than in men because once women had been selected, they always strove consciously, demonstrating a higher sense of responsibilities at work, cultivated morality and good lifestyle and gained trust from their colleagues and support from their supervisors for promotion.

+ Training: The capacity and skill improvement training for female officials and public servants was limited. To improve skills promotion opportunities, women should be trained in professional expertise, political theory, public administration and leadership and presentation.

- Another requisite for promotion was that women needed to consciously develop their ethics and good lifestyle, care for and support their colleagues, develop a good reputation and acquire support from their colleagues and supervisors. Furthermore, women should have a strong political stand, use their ability to create and orient, and fulfill their assigned tasks.

- Family living conditions strongly influence women's promotion. Women might not have to be the key actors in earning their living if all family members share their responsibilities for economic development. As a result, they were allowed to spend more time and money for their higher study and training for capacity and personality improvement. Women from wealthy families find it easier to help their workmates, expand personal and work relationships and thus acquire more social capital than those from poor families.

- Gender stereotypes still exist and negatively affected the advancement of women in society. Many people didn't yet appreciate women's efforts and ability. Many women held to be satisfied with their present situation and were not confident to accept the leading and management positions. Besides, many women were occupied with housework and family care so they had limited time for their work and public life. Good communication and implementation of the gender equity policy will help the community to develop unbiased perceptions of women's ability and capacity and to enable women to strive for advancement. In parallel, another requisite for promotion was that women themselves should be confident and make efforts.

11. Practical applicability, if any

Firstly, the study in Tuyen Quang highlights that to promote women, the Communist Party and authorities should (1) organize and implement the gender equity policy well; (2) support women to participate public recruitment and inter-agency/ unit staff transfer; (3) support women to fully participate in training to improve their expertise, political understanding and skills, public administration, and leadership and presentation skills; (4) select women for leadership and management planning and consider them for appointment if women meet all criteria for respective positions. If the above requirements are met, there will be more women in the Communist Party and authorities and more women holding leadership positions, including principal ones at the provincial and district levels.

Secondly,the aspirations of many people, including many women are to be in a higher position, have better jobs, higher incomes and better quality of material and spiritual life (ie being upside down socially or vertical social mobility). The research maps out a feasible plan to achieve these goals for female officials and public servants, ie they should regularly and consciously improve their morality and good lifestyle; develop the ability to create and orient to fulfill their agency/unit tasks; care for and support other workmates, develop a good reputation, acquire support from colleagues and supervisors, and in doing so, have more chances of success. If women perceive well and strive to implement this plan, the chances of success will come to them.

Third, the study identifies emotional and material support from family members, ie sharing house chores and economic responsibilities to be a requisite for women's promotion. If they are aware and implement these well, their women will have more chances to advance.

Fourthly, the study points out that gender stereotype exists and is one of the factors that hinder the advancement of women in society. To eliminate gender stereotypes and facilitate women's advancement, every society member needs to gradually abandon the negative stereotypes against women, correctly appreciating each person's ability and capacity. By doing so, will women be better supported and facilitated to apply their strengths and contribute to society.

In summary, for women to be promoted, the Communist Party and authorities should coordinate well in implementing the policy on gender equality. Every woman herself should make genuine efforts to cultivate to gain social recognition. Members of the family and society should abandon gender stereotypes, be aware of women's capacities and empower them in their careers.

12. Further Research Directions

- Assessment of the awareness of ethnic minority women reported in especially disadvantageous communes about women's political participation.

- Measures to enhance women's participation in movements and campaigns launched by the Women's Union.

13. Thesis-Related Published Works:

Do Thi Thanh Huong (2012), "Social work with gender equality in management in Tuyen Quang Province",Proceeding in international workshop "Sharing the international experiences on Social Work and Social Security, Hanoi, pp. 361-367.

Do Thi Thanh Huong (2014), "Commual Female Staffs in Tuyen Quang City"Proceeding in Scientific Seminar for the young tutors and postgraduate students, USSH Hanoi, Hanoi National University, pp. 709-722

Do Thi Thanh Huong (2015), "The promotion in women's occupation (in the case of Tuyen Quang Province)",Journal of Information social science(8), pp. 23-30.