Exploring And Explaining The Vulnerability And Resilience Of Migrant Women In Vietnam

EXPLORING AND EXPLAINING THE VULNERABILITY AND RESILIENCE OF MIGRANT WOMEN IN VIET NAM By Ly Thi Cam Huynh Master of Business Administration MBA Can Tho University, Vietnam Thesis s

EXPLORING AND EXPLAINING THE VULNERABILITY

AND RESILIENCE OF MIGRANT WOMEN

IN VIET NAM

By

Ly Thi Cam Huynh

Master of Business Administration (MBA) (Can Tho University, Vietnam)

Thesis submitted in fulfilment of the requirements for the Degree of

Doctor of Philosophy (Management)

Newcastle Business School

Faculty of Business and Law The University of Newcastle, Australia

March 2020

Statement of Originality

I hereby certify that the work embodied in the thesis is my own work, conducted under normal supervision The thesis contains no material which has been accepted, or is being examined, for the award of any other degree or diploma in any university or other tertiary institution and, to the best of my knowledge and belief, contains no material previously published or written by another person, except where due reference has been made I give consent to the final version of my thesis being made available worldwide when deposited

in the University’s Digital Repository, subject to the provisions of the Copyright Act 1968 and any approved embargo

Ly Thi Cam Huynh

Date: 05/03/2020

Statement of Authorship

I declare that the work embodied in this thesis is the result of original research and has not been submitted for a higher degree to any other university or institution

I certify that, to the best of my knowledge, any help received in preparing this thesis and all sources have been acknowledged in this thesis

Ly Thi Cam Huynh

Date: 05/03/2020

Acknowledgements

During the development of my PhD studies at The University of Newcastle, I have received the support of Newcastle Business School, and, in particular, from Associate Professor Suzanne Ryan It is my privilege to acknowledge their contribution This research project was funded by a Newcastle - Vietnam International Education Development (VIED) Joint Scholarship I would like to express my gratitude to these authorities for their financial support which made this research possible

I owe special thanks to my principal supervisor, Associate Professor Sara C Motta for her patience and encouragement throughout the project I would also like to express my appreciation to Associate Professor Frank Agbola, who guided and supported me at the beginning of my research and managed my progress Thanks are also due to my co-supervisor, Professor Jim-Jose, who assisted me at the final stage of my project I would also like to express my appreciation to Helen Thursby for her advice on the use of the English language in the academic context and for copy editing and proofreading my thesis Without the encouragement and support provided by these people, throughout the ups and downs of this project, I would not have crossed the finish line

I want to say thank you to all the PhD students who shared the successes and challenges

of my PhD life and supported me when I needed their help

And finally, I owe my deepest gratitude to my family: to my parents who helped me to take care my children when needed; to my husband, Quang Ngo, who agreed to leave his good career in Vietnam to come to Australia with me; to my lovely children, Nguyen Ngo and Khang Ngo, whose big hugs have given me much-needed energy A big thank you for your love, understanding and practical support

Contents

Statement of Originality i

Statement of Authorship ii

Acknowledgements iii

Contents iv

List of Tables vii

List of Figures viii

List of Abbreviations ix

Abstract x

CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION 1

Introduction 1

Contributions of the thesis 10

Thesis Outline 11

CHAPTER 2: LITERATURE REVIEW- UNDERSTANDING OF FEMALE MIGRANTS’ VULNERABILITY IN THE GLOBAL POLITICAL ECONOMY 15

Introduction 15

The Dynamics of Rural –Urban Migration 16

Determinants of Rural-Urban Migration 19

Push Factor 19

Pull factors 22

The vulnerability of women migrants 24

Multidimentional Framings of Female Vulnerability 35

Three Key Concepts of Female Migrants’ Vulnerability 38

Female Migrants’ Resilience, Agency and Resistance 40

Concluding Remarks 43

CHAPTER 3: THEORETICAL FRAMEWORK AND METHODOLOGY 45

Introduction 45

Conceptual Framework 45

Theory of gender and power 45

The structure of cathexis and social norms 46

Gender division of labour 47

Gender division of power 49

Hegemonic Masculinity 51

Confucianism in Vietnam 53

Resilience, Survival and Resistance 55

Attention to Women’s Wisdom, Resilience and Strategies of Survival 61

Research Method 62

Participants 67

Procedure and Timeline 71

Data collection 74

Data analysis 75

Reflections on Practical and Ethical Issues 77

Practical Issues 77

Ethical issues 78

Concluding Remarks 78

CHAPTER 4: THE CONTEXT OF FEMALE MIGRATION IN VIETNAM 81

Introduction 81

Global Context 83

Internal Feminised Migration in Vietnam 86

Gendered Political Economy in Post-War Vietnam 89

Gendered Political Economy since Doi Moi 90

Female Migrants and Social Protection 99

Gendered Cultural Context 103

Concluding Remarks 109

CHAPTER 5: SOCIAL VULNERABILITIES- HEGEMONIC MASCULINITIES AND CONFUCIANISM AND NEOLIBERALISM 112

Introduction 112

Mapping Female Migrants’ Social Vulnerability in Ho Chi Minh City 115

Social Context 115

Social Interaction 122

Social trajectory 128

Explaining Social Vulnerability of Female Migrants 130

Social (cultural) level 130

Institutional level 139

Female Migrants’ Agency, Resilience and Resistance 148

Concluding Remarks 155

CHAPTER 6: ECONOMIC VULNERABILITIES- GENDERED DIVISION OF LABOUR AND NEOLOBERALISED FEMINISED PRECARITY 158

Introduction 158

Mapping Female Migrants’ Economic Vulnerability in Ho Chi Minh City 160

From Rural Precarity to Urban Precarity 160

Precarity in Ho Chi Minh City 166

Explaining Economic Vulnerability of Female Migrants 181

Female Migrants’ Agency, Resilience and Resistance 191

Concluding Remarks 197

CHAPTER 7: PHYSICAL VULNERABILITIES- GENDERED VIOLENCE AND PRECARITY 200

Introduction 200

Mapping Female Migrants’ Physical Vulnerability in Ho Chi Minh City 202

Work Condition and Physical Vulnerability 208

Sexual and Gender-Based Violence 213

Explaining Physical Vulnerability of Female Migrants 221

Female Migrants’ Agency, Resilience and Resistance 228

Concluding Remarks 234

CHAPTER 8- CONCLUSION 237

Contribution of the thesis 247

Limitations of the Research and Future Research Pathways 249

Appendices 252

Appendix 1: Participants Biographies 252

Appendix 2: Individual interview question 260

Appendix 3: References for figure 3 268

Bibliography 276

List of Tables

Table 1: Participants' General Information 69 Table 2: The Amount and Structure of Labour Divided by the Type of Economy, period 2009-2016 _ 96 Table 3: The Number of Female Workers in the Labour Market, period 2013-2016 _ 97

List of Figures

Figure 1: International Migrant Stock at Mid-year (United Nations, 2019) 17 Figure 2:Trends in International Migrant Stocks: by gender (United Nations, 2019) _ 18 Figure 3: Female migrants' Vulnerability in the Global 25 Figure 4: The Theory of Gender and Power _ 46 Figure 5: Theoretical Framework _ 55 Figure 6: Research Design 66 Figure 7: The Cause of Social Vulnerability of Female Migrants _ 140

List of Abbreviations

AUD : Australian Dollar

GSO : General Statistics Office

UNFPA : United Nations Population Fund

Abstract

This thesis maps, conceptualises and explains multidimensional vulnerability of rural female migrants who migrate to urban area in Vietnam It does this through a qualitative life story method which captures the histories, stories and experience of vulnerability of

15 informal sector migrant women workers in Ho Chi Minh City I develop a multi-dimensional conceptualisation which focuses on social, economic and physical vulnerability to map their complex intersecting vulnerabilities To explain their vulnerability I develop a theoretical framework which combines the theory of gender and power with insights from feminist political-economists and embed this within the concrete manifestation of hegemonic masculinity in contemporary Vietnam which is Confucianism However, I do not limit my conceptualisation and analysis to only the vulnerabilities that these women experience but also the ways in which they develop strategies of survival and resilience, that can arguably be framed as seeds of resistance/active agency

I demonstrate the depth and intersecting nature of the three strands of vulnerability through a sharing of their stories and conceptualisation of what these demonstrate Social vulnerability is a potential key which leads to economic and physical vulnerability and this vulnerability stems from their hometowns Due to cultural gendered norms and their intersection with state policy and political economy, the female migrants often face inequities in power and autonomy and are valued as the ‘lowest of the low’ in the social hierarchy As a result, they are subject to complex forms of violence which intersect with the consequences of economic reform which has strengthened the informal economy and the demand for feminised, unregulated and low paid labour Perhaps the most pernicious form of this vulnerability is when the women come to internalise and naturalise their

precarity and the sufferings they experience due to fate and their gender and class status However, I also demonstrate, through an initial engagement with their practices of survival and strategies of resilience and agency how these women do not passively accept these circumstances I conceptualise their agency through the ideas of public and hidden transcripts and feminised forms of solidarity and sociability The participants tend to use their hidden transcripts for their social and economic vulnerability however, they resort more to the public transcript for their physical vulnerability and in each form different degrees of feminised solidarity and support.

Tóm tắt nội dung luận án

Thông qua một nghiên cứu định tính về câu chuyện của đời của 15 phụ nữ di cư làm việc trong khu vực phi chính thức ở thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, nghiên cứu đã phát triển một khái niệm đa chiều tập trung vào tổn thương kinh tế, xã hội và thể chất của những người nữ di cư để chỉ ra một sự tương tác phức tạp trong tổn thương đa chiều của họ Nghiên cứu chỉ ra rằng tổn thương xã hội là nhân tố tiềm ẩn dẫn tới tổn thương kinh tế

và thể chất của những người tham gia Do những định kiến về giới trong văn hoá và sự tương tác của nó với tình hình chính trị và kinh tế chính trị của Việt Nam, những phụ

nữ di cư thường đối mặt với sự bất bình đẳng trong quyền lực và sự tự chủ và giá trị của

họ thường được xem là nhóm thấp nhất trong thứ bậc xã hội Có lẽ hình thức nguy hại

và chịu đựng nhất mà phụ nữ di cư trải nghiệm đó là nhận thức của họ về số phận, về giới và về tầng lớp của mình trong xã hội