Statistics

I attempted to locate research papers focusing on Vietnamese women in higher education, but was unsuccessful.

However, I did find reports and statistics that provide some insights…

🔎 According to Gender Statistics in Vietnam (2021):

Women represent only 28% of PhD holders in Vietnam.

In contrast, about 41.2% of PhD holders in the US are women, according to the National Science Foundation.(🍎)

🔎 According to Hanoi University of Science and Technology (HUST):

The number of female faculty is 35%, while the number of female students is 21% (reported in 2021)

HUST is commonly regarded as the top technical university in Vietnam, often nicknamed “MIT Đại Cồ Việt”. In comparison “actual” MIT reported that 48% of its undergraduate enrollment in 2021 (same year) were women.(🍎)

🔎 According to the STEM education for girls and women: breaking barriers and exploring gender inequality in Asia (UNESCO Office Bangkok and Regional Bureau for Education in Asia and the Pacific, 2020):

“Perceptions of self, interest, and difficulty are key factors that influence the extent to which students engage with subjects. When students lack interest, confidence, and success in a subject, they are less likely to continue their studies in that area. Negative stereotypes around girls’ and women’s capabilities in STEM create learning environments that do not encourage success or interest. A study of female students in STEM programs at RMIT International University in Vietnam found that they often experience anxiety when entering the program due to the perception that IT is traditionally a male choice.”

“There were several overarching sociocultural factors that influenced the experiences of girls and women in the STEM field. In multiple cases, researchers found that STEM careers were perceived as inappropriate for women. […] These sociocultural factors can influence girls’ career paths, as seen in both Indonesia and Vietnam where women were shown to have a high interest in STEM subjects yet did not want to work in the STEM field.

[This study] found seven reasons for the importance of encouraging the participation of girls:

1. Narrowing gender gaps in STEM-related careers.
2. Enhancing gender equality.
3. Removing gender stereotypes.
4. Creating diversified opportunities for girls to develop general skills.
5. Improving female students’ performances on STEM-related subjects.
6. Helping girls have more opportunities to pursue careers in the future.
7. Increasing the rate of female students choosing STEM-related subjects/areas in higher levels of education.

🔎 According to a survey by the International Labour Organization (ILO, 2016) and ‘National Programme on Educational Technology and Science, 2018’:

“Vietnamese students choose to study economics fields compared to engineering fields. STEM occupations are selected by only 23% of male students and 9% of female students. This is lower than the ASEAN country average, where 28% of male students and 17% of female students select STEM occupations.”