Vietnam provides an interesting case for studying women’s access to and participation in
national educational planning and management. Vietnam is a post-colonial, socialist country which
claims a long history of promoting women’s equality vis-à-vis men. With one of the fastest growing
national economies in the world, Vietnam receives substantial donor support aimed at transitioning
the country from a centrally-planned command economy to one operating on market mechanisms
and integrated into the global economy. At the same time, the Vietnamese government is
committed to preserving many of its socialist goals for equality, and so continues to expand the legal
and policy framework aimed at supporting women’s rights.