The 2008-2009 financial crisis caused a global economic recession. In response Vietnam, along with
many countries in the Asia-Pacific region, implemented an economic stimulus package (ESP). This
paper considers the gender implications of such stimulus packages to improve eventual outcomes,
not just in terms of rights but also in terms of economic efficiency and productivity. We look, firstly, at
how financial crises – and government responses – have different consequences for men and women
because many industries in developing countries are sex-stereotyped so that women dominate the
workforces of textiles, garments and electronics, while men dominate the construction workforce.
The 1997-1998 Asian Financial Crisis provided lessons for responding to future economic crises
with an argument for gender-responsive planning and budgeting to ensure that both sexes will
benefit substantially from the use of public resources.
Secondly, we examine the fiscal response of the Vietnamese and other Asia-Pacific governments to
the present crisis from a gender perspective. In Vietnam, the global recession has caused an estimated
decline of 1.5-2% in gross domestic product (GDP) growth in 2009. The declining export prices and
foreign investment have mostly impacted the export-oriented industries. Vietnam’s ESP has focused
on subsidized loans to increase credit for enterprises, public investment and social security packages
and tax reductions. Vietnam’s economic recovery is being led by the male-dominated construction
industry while the female-dominated manufacturing sectors are still facing challenges resulting in
gender bias.
Finally, in order to implement a more gender aware response to this and future crises we recommend
that governments:
1. Recognize the different impacts on women and men, and design responses
accordingly. In particular, response measures should be based on analysis showing
which sectors and workers (women, men, formal, informal) are most affected and be
specifically designed to ensure that those workers and sectors benefit.
2. Consider the impact of the crisis on women’s domestic (unpaid labour) and care
roles in designing the fiscal response.
3. Monitor household coping strategies and ensure that the fiscal response is explicitly
designed to minimize the negative effects on women and girls of such strategies, such
as reducing expenditure on female health and/or education and increasing women’s
participation in informal sector low paid work with poor working conditions.
4. Provide access to basic social protection for poor households.
5. Monitor the impact of the crisis through gender-sensitive child-centered data and
use such data to adjust the implementation of fiscal response measures to maximize
benefits and minimize harm to women and children.
We conclude that while it is probably now too late for major changes to allocations within the current
ESP, it is not too late to change the way in which they are implemented. Such gender-responsive
planning and budgeting can lead to greater results, not just for women, but for the economy and
welfare of the Vietnamese people as a whole.