Since the late 1990s, gender issues have been a critical part of community development in Laos. However, there has often confusion, based on misinformation, in the application of gender and women's perspectives. This article analyzes three projects in the Bokeo province of Laos aimed at improving the living standards in rural communities by raising the status of women. The study found that the traditional village patriarchal system remained intact and that the projects failed to improve both the status of women and the community's livelihood. It found that successful community development projects must undertake a careful analysis of local conditions and consider whether a gender or women's perspective should be applied.