The equality of property (land) rights in Vietnam became a very important issue during the process of transfer of land management rights from collectives to households. As thehousehold became an economic unit, instead of strictly an administrative one, the role of the household head as the property representative became very important. In Vietnam today, strong gender stereotypes favoring men still exist. However, this issue has not been considered or integrated into the legislation documents, and land allocation implementation guidelines lead tothe fact that most land titles are issued in men’s name. The absence of women’s names on landtitles puts women at a disadvantage when it comes to using formal financial services, which require collateral. As a result, many women borrow from the informal sector at much higher interest rates. In some cases, women can lose their land altogether.