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In today’s competitive business landscape, achieving gender equity in the workplace is not just a moral imperative – it’s a strategic necessity.
Our Michael Page Talent Trends 2024: The Expectation Gap Report sheds light on the current state of gender equity in Vietnam’s workplaces, revealing both progress and persistent challenges.
Understanding these insights for hiring managers and leadership teams is crucial for creating more inclusive and equitable work environments that attract top talent and retain top performers.
The pandemic catalysed a significant shift in workplace dynamics across APAC, with flexibility emerging as a new norm.
Our talent trends 2024 report shows that professionals in Vietnam now consider flexible work arrangements as the eighth most important factor after salary when job hunting.
This change, born out of necessity during lockdowns, has become a permanent feature of the work landscape in Vietnam’s compact urban environment and tech-savvy workforce.
While offering potential benefits for work-life balance, this shift also presents new challenges for gender equity in the workplace.
Gender equity focuses on fairness by providing support based on individual needs, recognising that different genders may have different starting points. In contrast, workplace gender equality means giving everyone the same rights and opportunities. Both approaches foster gender diversity, with equity ensuring individuals get what they need to succeed.
Gender stereotypes can hinder progress by reinforcing traditional roles and expectations, limiting opportunities for all genders to thrive equally in diverse environments.
Also, gender discrimination, which involves treating individuals unfairly based on their gender, creates further barriers to equal opportunities and undermines efforts to achieve both gender equity and diversity.
Together, these challenges highlight the importance of breaking down gender bias to foster a more equitable environment.
As organisations in Vietnam adapt to these evolving expectations, the impact on gender equity remains a critical consideration in fostering inclusive work environments.
Our data reveals a nuanced picture of how women feel about workplace gender equity efforts in Vietnam:
The high dissatisfaction rate (31%) coupled with a large neutral segment (46%) indicates that a significant majority of women in Vietnam either perceive insufficient effort or lack clarity about their employers’ actions to close the gender pay gap. Only a minority (23%) express satisfaction, highlighting a critical area for improvement.
Related: The role of salary transparency in reducing workplace inequality
The high satisfaction rate (82%) indicates that most women perceive their employers as actively and effectively promoting equity and inclusion. The equal and low percentages for neutral and dissatisfied responses (9% each) suggest that negative experiences are relatively uncommon.
Unlike the gender pay gap issue, where concerns were prevalent, efforts towards equity and inclusion appear to be resonating strongly with female employees. This marked contrast highlights an area of significant progress in workplace gender equality, while also emphasizing the complexity of addressing various aspects of gender equity in the workplace.
This 50-50 divide points to a critical juncture in workplace gender equality. It likely reflects significant progress in some areas or organisations, contrasted with persistent barriers in others.
The high level of dissatisfaction matches the satisfaction rate, indicating that while strides have been made, there's still substantial room for improvement in advancing women to leadership roles. The low neutral percentage (8%) suggests that most women have strong opinions on this issue, with very few feeling ambivalent.
Related: Asia's female leaders: How to be more confident at work
Our report also highlights significant differences in how men and women prioritise various Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion (DE&I) initiatives:
These differences in priorities are telling. While both genders rank preventing age discrimination as the top priority, women place much higher importance on gender-specific issues.
While our data reveals clear differences in how men and women prioritise DE&I initiatives, it’s crucial to recognise the role men play in advancing workplace gender equity.
The fact that “closing the gender pay gap” does not appear in men’s top five priorities indicates a possible lack of awareness and concern. At the same time, there is one women-specific issue in men’s top priorities, “promoting greater equity for and inclusion of women in the workplace”, which suggests some understanding on the issue.
This discrepancy highlights the need for increased awareness and engagement among men, particularly those in leadership positions, regarding the challenges women face in the workplace.
Bridging this perception gap is essential, as men often hold positions of influence that can drive significant change in organisational policies and workplace culture.
Related: How leaders can gain better engagement with their teams
These findings have several important implications for hiring managers and leadership teams:
Bridging the gender gap in Vietnam’s workplaces is an ongoing process that requires sustained effort and commitment. While progress has been made, our Talent Trends 2024 report clearly shows that there’s still work to be done.
By understanding and addressing women’s perspectives on workplace equity, organisations can create more inclusive environments that attract and retain female talent, foster innovation, and improve overall performance.
The message for hiring managers and leadership teams is clear: prioritising gender equity is not just about meeting DE&I targets but creating a workplace where all employees can thrive, contribute their best, and drive the organisation forward.
Discover the latest in workforce trends in our latest Michael Page Vietnam Talent Trends 2024 report: The Expectation Gap. This survey report findings are based on responses from 12,940 job seekers, employees and employers across Asia Pacific.
It covers career insights that talent leaders and hiring professionals need to know to attract and retain talent. Also, download our report or use our interactive online tool to gain deeper, up-to-date insights into the current talent market.
Read more:Why should someone be led by you?5 ways to use negative feedback to your advantage9 common mistakes hiring managers should avoid in job interviews
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