Overview
This report was developed as part of the Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment in Vietnam (AWEEV) project, implemented by CARE in Vietnam, and funded by the Global Affairs Canada. The project targets improving economic wellbeing of 4,800 ethnic minority women and men across 11 communes in Tuyen Quang (former Ha Giang) and Lai Chau provinces.
The aim of this study is to explore how public infrastructure and services either support or limit the ability of ethnic minority women to engage in paid work, particularly in the context of their unpaid care responsibilities. The research focuses on the relationship between infrastructure accessibility and the care burden that women disproportionately carry in their households.
Using qualitative methods, including interviews and community consultations, the study captures local perspectives on water supply, sanitation, energy, transport, health, and childcare services. It highlights how insufficient or poorly planned infrastructure increases the time and physical burden of care work, thereby limiting women’s participation in economic activities. The findings are intended to inform future investment by the AWEEV project and contribute to broader policy dialogue on inclusive and equitable infrastructure planning.
Key findings
- Time-consuming and physically demanding care tasks such as water collection, firewood gathering, and transporting children to school are intensified by poor infrastructure. These responsibilities fall mostly on women, affecting their health and limiting time for economic activities.
- Access to childcare, health, and transport services remains limited or unaffordable in some areas, particularly for ethnic minority women, which restricts their ability to pursue paid work or entrepreneurship.
- Decision-making over household infrastructure such as where to build latrines or install water systems is often dominated by men, even though women are the primary users and most affected by inadequate facilities.
- Community consultation and infrastructure planning rarely prioritize women’s perspectives, leading to investment decisions that overlook the daily realities of care work.
- The study identifies opportunities to reduce the care burden through targeted infrastructure improvements such as decentralized water access, clean energy, local childcare centers, and community-based transport solutions.
CARE International in Vietnam (CVN) is implementing the Project for Advancing Women’s Economic Empowerment in Vietnam (AWEEV). The project would target 2,635 ethnic minority (EM) women and men in eight communes across two provinces, namely Tien Nguyen, Xuan Minh, Yen Thanh, Tan Bac, Yen Binh, and Tan Trinh communes in Quang Binh district, Ha Giang province, and Ban Bo and Son Binh communes in Tam Duong district, Lai Chau province. This project promotes the economic rights of ethnic minority women and strengthens their participation in paid work through its outcomes, including (i) Enhanced promotion of economic rights for poor rural and ethnic minority women in Vietnam; (ii) Enhanced voice, leadership and participation of ethnic minority women in decisions related to productive economic activities at the household level; Improved capacity of poor ethnic minorities, especially women, to participate in income-generating activities from agricultural and non-agricultural livelihoods; and (iii) Enhanced ability of the poor, especially women, to save and borrow capital to support economic empowerment; and women’s enhanced participation in entrepreneurship and start-up to benefit from the opportunities brought by economic growth.
An important objective of this Project is contributing to the reduction in women’s burden of unpaid care work (UCW). To fulfill this objective, the Project firstly implements several research activities to understand UCW, and the impacts of the UCW burden on women in terms of access to infrastructure, use of public services, and engagement in paid work. The research findings will determine the future expenditure lines for AWEEV Project interventions in the Project locations. At the same time, the research findings and recommendations will also be widely shared to promote policy advocacy at all levels.