Gender Mainuireaning In Academie Leadership From The Experiences Of Female University Academic And Aidministrative Staff At A Higher Education Institution In Southern Vietnam Ma .Pdf

Gender Mainstreaming in Academic Leadership From the Experiences of Female University Academic and Administrative Staff at a Higher Education Institution in Southern Vietnam アカデミックリーダーシ ッ[.]

Gender Mainstreaming in Academic Leadership: From the Experiences of

Female University Academic and Administrative Staff at a Higher Education Institution in Southern Vietnam

Gender Mainstreaming in Academic Leadership: From the Experiences of

Female University Academic and Administrative Staff at a Higher Education Institution in Southern Vietnam

アカデミックリーダーシ ップにおけるジェンダー主流化―

ベトナム南部の高等教育機 関における女性の大学教職員の経験から

A Thesis Presented to the Graduate School of Arts and Sciences,

International Christian University for the Degree of Master of Arts Public Policy and Social Research Program

国際基督教大学大学院 アーツ・サイエンス研究科 公共政策・ 社会研究 専攻提出修士論文

Abstract

The thesis examined efforts in mainstreaming gender equality at a public university in

Southern Vietnam, the essence of being a female academic leader, and factors that were

essentially affecting gender mainstreaming efforts at this university A case study was

conducted to explore the phenomenon of how women academics were empowered through

experiences recounted at their leadership positions Document analysis, semi-structured

in-depth interviews conducted on 8 female academic leaders and 2 policymakers, and a

questionnaire administered to the university staff, all combined to provide rich data in

generating meanings for a detailed description of the phenomenon at this typically

progressive case Even though the case university presents favorable conditions for

mainstreaming gender equality, findings suggested that certain micro-inequities were still

persistent such as the age in gender training policy, misrecognition and the ambivalence

towards a female being a senior academic leader The incongruence in individual needs and

the ways the university celebrated the gendered self also reflected that the idea of gender

mainstreaming was not fully understood in the context of the study Implications were

included for the female academic leaders of the case university and for other relevant public

university contexts in Vietnam Policy implications concerning quality assurance,

autonomization and research orientation were also proffered, aiming towards setting the

background for future trajectories of gender mainstreaming and its role in deepening

understanding and shaping academic leadership in Vietnam’s higher education governance

Acknowledgement

“It takes a village to raise a child.” The child here is my thesis And also, me

I would like to express my sincere gratitude to my thesis advisor, Professor Nishimura Mikiko, for her dedication and continuous support for my M.A thesis and research journey at International Christian University (ICU) Her work ethics inspired me, and her timely advice always kept me on the ground, which all together helped me grow as

a researcher

It is wholeheartedly appreciated that all of my courses at ICU and the meaningful discussion that I had with my professors, classmates, and dear friends did cultivate my personality, mindset and competence Pursuing graduate study at a liberal arts university had thus become such a fantastic experience

I am indebted to all of my research participants, who had helped me unconditionally and had provided me with the valuable information that directly contributed to the materialization of this thesis In addition, I would like to thank all the researchers whose works I was able to build this thesis

Finally, I would like to send my special regards to the Japan International Cooperation Agency (JICA) and the Japan Project for Human Resource Development Scholarship (JDS) for supporting and funding my two-year knowledge quest at ICU All of the JICA and ICU coordinators did their best in helping me and my fellows not feeling like

a fish out of water We thrived together on this meaningful journey of becoming dedicated, thoughtful citizens

List of Abbreviations

HEIs Higher Education Institutions

HERA Vietnam's Higher Education Reform Agenda IWA Intellectual Women’s Association

MOET Ministry of Education and Training

List of Tables

Table 2.1 Gender Distribution in Higher Education Leadership in Vietnam 30

Table 3.1 Demographic Information of Interview Informants 51

Table 3.2 Distribution of Questionnaire Items 55

Table 3.3 Conceptual Clusters Generated from the Theoretical Framework 57

Table 3.4 Research Questions and the Corresponding Research Instruments 58

Table 4.1 Current Practices and Policies at University A through the Lens of GM 63

Table 4.2 Composition of University A’s Communist Party Members 54

Table 4.3 Opinions of Staff on Gender-Related Aspects of Work Environment 68

Table 4.4 Descriptive Statistics Associated with Staff’s Gender and Opinions of Work Environment 70

Table 4.5 Results of Independent-samples t-Test on Staff’s Gender and Opinions of Work Environment 70

Table 4.6 Opinions of University Staff on Human Resource Policies in 2020 71

Table 4.7 Meanings of Academic Leadership Dimensions 75

Table 4.8 Female Leaders’ Description of Leadership Styles 76

Table 4.9 Opinions of University Staff on Female Academic Leaders 81

Table 4.10 Descriptive Statistics of Staff’s Gender and Opinions about Female Academic Leaders 82

Table 4.11 Results of Independent-samples t-Test on Staff’s Gender and Opinions of Female Academic Leaders 83

Table 4.12 Female Leaders’ Perceptions of Micro-Inequities in Academic Leadership 84

Table 4.13 Categorization of Meanings: University A as a Gendered Organization 89

Table 4.14 Opinions of University Staff on the Relevance of Gender in the Workplace 93

Table 4.15 Frequency and Chi-Square Results for Gender and Understanding of GM 94

Table 4.16 Categorization of Meanings related to Women’s Empowerment at University A 98

Table 4.17 Membership Distribution of Survey Respondents 103

List of Figures

Figure 1.1 Shared Percentage of M.A and Doctorate Degree Holders by Region and Sex,

2016 2

Figure 2.1 The Organizational Structure of the Vietnam Women’s Union 14

Figure 2.2 Dimensions of School Leadership Nature 19

Figure 2.3 Distribution of Public Universities by Governing Authority in Vietnam 27

Figure 2 4 Administrative Career Path to Mid-Level Leadership 32

Figure 2 5 Academic Career Path to Mid-Level Leadership 32

Figure 2.6 Step-by-step Model of Leadership Development 38

Figure 3.1 Conceptual Framework 44

Figure 4.1 Staff’s Experience with Previous Training Related to Gender Issues 67

Figure 4.2 Staff’s Level of Familiarity with the Concept of Gender Mainstreaming 94

Figure 4.3 Staff’s Level of Confidence in Addressing Gender Equality Issues at Work 95

Table of Contents

Abstract i

Acknowledgement ii

List of Abbreviations iii

List of Tables iv

List of Figures v

Table of Contents vi

Chapter 1 Introduction 1

1.1 Research background and problem statement 1

1.2 Purpose of the study 5

1.3 Significance of research 5

1.4 Outline of the thesis 7

Chapter 2 Literature Review 8

2.1 The gender outlook in Vietnam: Feminist views in a socialist country 8

2.2 Gender and academic leadership in higher education 19

2.3 Gender mainstreaming in academic leadership 34

2.4 Reflections on previous literature 40

Chapter 3 Methodology 43

3.1 Research questions and conceptual framework 43

3.2 Research design 45

3.3 Selection of research site and participants 47

3.4 Data collection procedures 52

3.5 Research instruments 53

3.6 Data analysis procedures 56

3.7 Reliability and validity considerations 59

3.8 Reflexivity 60

Chapter 4 Findings 62

4.1 Efforts in mainstreaming gender equality 62

4.2 The essence of being a female academic leader 74

4.3 Factors affecting gender mainstreaming practices at the case university 88

Chapter 5 Discussion 105

5.1 Emergent themes in exploring gender aspects in academic leadership 105

5.2 Vietnam HEIs as gendered organizations: commonalities and discrepancies 113

5.3 Implications 116

Chapter 6 Conclusions and Recommendations 120

6.1 Concluding thoughts 120

6.2 Contributions of the study 121

6.3 Limitations of the study 122

6.4 Recommendations for future research 123

References 125

Appendices 135

Summary of Master’s Thesis 156

Chapter 1 Introduction

This chapter provides a panoramic view of the thesis The first section introduces the research background on gender in academia in Vietnam’s context and the need for carrying out the study From this departure point, the purposes of the study are clarified in the second section The third section presents the research significance in the theoretical, practical and contextual realms Finally, the fourth section provides an outline of the whole thesis

1.1 Research background and problem statement

Gender inequality in leadership is a worldwide systemic problem In the context of higher education, the under-representation of women academics, especially in senior leadership positions, is not only framed as an international phenomenon but also a social justice issue(Aiston et al., 2020) Across national boundaries, women leaders are exposed to analogous stereotypes that form sexist prejudice in organizations; and to the media that scrutinize their physical appearance, clothing, and family responsibilities while portraying the male counterparts as dealing with substantive issues (Cheung & Halpern, 2010) A general sense

is that, when discussing gender inequality, the focus is usually directed at women and their experiences

There is an assumption that, in highly competitive, research-intensive environments, academic women might face even more significant barriers in their career advancement (Aiston et al., 2020) While research performance is the pathway to promotion in the “global prestige economy of higher education,” there is extensive evidence indicating a gendered research productivity gap (Kandiko et al., 2018) Also, Asian culture places a premium on

women as dutiful wives, mothers, and homemakers (Chiricosta, 2010), which may influence career choices made by female academics What is problematic is the policy response to the underrepresentation of women academic leaders, which has not even been fully understood, especially from the point of view of middle management and male colleagues (Aiston et al., 2020)

Common challenges are thus anticipated in the case of Vietnam as well According

to Figure 1.1, the percentage of women attaining masters’ and doctorate degrees was still lower than that of men in all disaggregated groups across various regional contexts (GSO, 2018) The pictured bar graph in Figure 1.1 indicates, at first glance, the idea that female scholars, either in rural or urban areas, tend to be considered the consumer rather than the producer of knowledge, hinting at potential unequal power relations in academia With the projection that male intellectuals occupy larger representation in terms of research productivity, it is also important to inquire whether this discrepancy affects women intellectuals' experience in academic leadership and professional advancement

Figure 1.1

Shared Percentage of M.A and Doctorate Degree Holders by Region and Sex, 2016

Note Figured bar graph from “Gender statistics in Vietnam” by General Statistics Office of

Vietnam, 2018 1

In addition, in the Anglophone sphere, metaphorics on women in academia abound, revolving around the academic institutions and women academics themselves (Amery et al., 2015) According to Husu (2001, p 173), these metaphors were born in an attempt to

“crystalize the complexities of women’s position and the persistence of gender inequalities

in academia.” The former type of metaphor refers to representation, seniority, leadership and work-life balance (e.g., glass ceiling, pipeline effect, the old boys’ network, chilly climate, the ivory basement) while the latter deals with gender norms and women’s experiences (e.g., mothers/housekeepers, strangers/outsiders, catfights, queen bees, the Matilda effect (Rossiter, 1993) ) (Amery et al., 2015, pp 250-252) Meanwhile, there were hardly any metaphors with negative connotations illustrating the men academics’ experiences Even when men work in a traditionally women-dominated environment, they enjoy the “glass escalator,” which means an automatic, invisible and unearned competitive advantage (Williams, 1992, as cited in Moratti, 2020, p 864) These metaphors have also received criticism in terms of not capturing both structural and agentic dynamics, especially when being placed in non-Western cultures (Husu, 2001) For instance, in the context of Vietnam’s academia, there are no such parallel convenient metaphors or articulated stereotypical language concerning the image of female academics or the gender issue in academia The same metaphorics or stereotypical language cannot be applied to talk about the situation in academia in another random context Thus, there is a need for more research to explore gendered structures and cultures of academia, which would contribute to explaining nuances and relevant issues regarding the context-specific nature of academic leadership amidst current changes of public universities

Public universities in Vietnam present an interesting case study as they are situated

in a socialist country with the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP) leading and overseeing the general operations at public institutions If there are any progressive changes at public higher

education institutions (HEIs), these changes are necessarily reflective of the VCP’s strategic plans The overseeing role of the VCP is constitutive to what Hoang (2019) called a “socialist gender regime” where changes in strategic planning have always been connected to national independence and the Marxist-socialist ideological paradigm As public universities are situated in the “socialist gender regime” of Vietnam (Hoang, 2019), the presence and connotation of gender mainstreaming may not be widely perceived by its human resource, especially those at critical leadership positions (Salmi & Pham, 2019) Besides, in a public university, a female academic holding a leadership position takes on various roles in the academic, administrative, political and domestic domains, all of which may vary according

to different temporal and spatial contexts Currently, though Vietnam’s public universities are undergoing autonomization and renovations towards becoming research universities, certain forms of incongruence still exist, making it harder to adopt gender-related or feminist ideas and fitting them in the organizational culture (Salmi & Pham, 2019; Vo & Lacking, 2020) Moreover, feminist theories and the idea of critical mass need to be revisited in the Vietnamese context, considering women not as a homogeneous group but as mosaic of individuals with different needs that require strategic planning in fostering such critical human resources Women academics in the present urban, modern context were often overlooked as they have acquired a critical mass (through the quota policy) and a favorable working condition However, set in this “suggested” socialist gender regime, their representation, political participation and professional development at the university also need further examination

As emerging issues are expected to be present in each particular university context, this case study is considered relevant in revisiting the interrelatedness among gender mainstreaming, human resource development and academic leadership, which would consequently become contributive to improving university governance knowledge Any

lessons learned from a case study could be applied to public universities undergoing similar dynamics In generating rich data to understand more about the actualization of gender mainstreaming in Vietnam, the present study does not confine itself to only seeking causes

of women academics’ disadvantages but also generates real-life narratives to realize a development agenda for gender equality in leadership at public universities and the factors

or persons critical in driving this agenda The present study was set in the context of urban, southern Vietnam, where traditional values co-exist with palpable global forces and influences of modern feminist ideas Besides, the researcher also took into consideration the current processes of autonomization and research orientation of Vietnamese public universities, which are not in sync with its leadership dimensions (Vo & Laking, 2020) In this respect, emerging challenges and dilemmas are presented not only to women academics themselves, but also to the general human resources working at public universities

1.2 Purpose of the study

A case study on women academics’ experiences at a Vietnamese public university was conducted to:

(i) Provide rich data concerning the experiences of female academics at a public

university in the southern, urban context of Vietnam;

(ii) Deepen understanding of how women are empowered in academic leadership in

contributing to the growing body of literature on women leadership in HEIs In addition, the research also contributes to the literature on gender mainstreaming and its context-specific implementation and reception, prompting further research in the field of educational management and leadership

As a case study, findings from the research informs actions and provides suggestions for improving and implementing gender policies concerning leadership and professional development in higher education The study’s findings can serve as a valuable source of information for women academics as well as public universities undergoing similar changes, especially in the ASEAN region where the ASEAN University Network (AUN) plays an important role in shaping universities’ quality assurance and accreditation processes Women academics can also refer to the study’s findings to reflect on their career pathway Insight into the significance of gender in terms of academic leadership can motivate Vietnam public universities to pay attention to gender analysis when working on their institutional designs towards research orientation

Past studies were often conducted in the northern part of the country, focusing on women’s work-life balance under Confucianism ideologies’ influence The present qualitative case study takes an interest in the case of women academics in the urban-south context, revisits the role of HEIs in facilitating women’s leadership, discovers micro-inequities and situates them in the context of autonomization and research orientation at public universities In brief, the present research aims to complement but not duplicate previous studies in exploring emerging themes of empowering female intellectuals in the higher education context of Vietnam

1.4 Outline of the thesis

The thesis is organized into six chapters:

Chapter 1 provides the rationale for conducting the study in Vietnam in the context

of higher education Chapter 2 constructs a literature review on gender, academic leadership

and relevant concepts associated with gender mainstreaming through four parts In this

chapter, section 1 introduces the gender outlook in Vietnam Section 2 further investigates

the gender concept in academic leadership, both in the global and Vietnames context

Section 3 reviews the bodies of theories related to the study The last section reflects on

previous studies and generates the research gap Chapter 3 introduces and provides

explanation for the research questions, the conceptual framework and the methodology

employed in the thesis In particular, this chapter offers a meticulous presentation of how

participants were recruited, why certain instruments were employed, and the categorization

of conceptual clusters for data analysis The research reliability, validity and the researcher’s

reflexivity are also clarified Chapter 4 presents the results which are organized according to

the three research questions in the study Chapter 5 discusses the emerging themes in the

study This chapter also revisits the idea of university as a gendered organization and proffers

implications in the context of Vietnam In chapter 6, the concluding thoughts are presented,

together with the study’s contribution, its limitations and the corresponding suggestions for

further research in the field of gender studies and leadership in higher education

Chapter 2 Literature Review

Chapter 2 examines literature relevant to different contextual levels of gender issues in higher education The first section introduces the current gender outlook in Vietnam through three aspects, namely the socio-cultural aspects, the legal and policy framework, and the institutional support framework The second section presents prior knowledge and empirical studies related to gender and academic leadership, revealing an interplay between the gender knowledge in several country contexts and the organizational structure in which the gendered self is rendered The third section examines the concept of gender mainstreaming and its relevance with other concepts in the context of higher education Finally, the fourth part reflects on previous studies and articulates the research gap that requires further research

2.1 The gender outlook in Vietnam: Feminist views in a socialist country

This section revisits the idea of “the culture of gender” in Vietnam (Dang, 2017) based on previous studies of both Vietnamese and non-Vietnamese scholars

2.1.1 The socio-cultural aspects of gender in Vietnamese society

Vietnam presents an interesting case where, from historical facts, women were not originally oppressed (Nguyen, 2011) Women were key hero icons in the fights against Chinese cultural and political domination (e.g., Hai Bà Trưng, Bà Triệu, etc.) (Chiricosta, 2010) History remembered women and their noble victories, yet at the same time, helped build the association of women’s image with sacrifice and endurance, celebrating their achievements and success in most often a nationalistic manner In a sense, they can be heroes in the public sphere, yet they still hold an irreplaceable, essential role in the private sphere: the domestic

role as a “homemaker” in the family In every society, there exist gender norms that lay down the roles and behaviors differentiating the experiences of women and men Traditional Confucian expectations for women in how they behave in the domestic domain still persist

in Vietnam (Nguyen, 2011) What perpetuates these expectations is actually the unresolved contradictions in the construction of womanhood, where gender equality and gender hierarchy mingled (Schuler et al., 2006) Accordingly, Vietnamese women grow up with a value-laden concept of womanhood, where society celebrates them for hard work, proper behaviors and a life-long focus on family roles

To Fahey (1998), women’s roles underwent a reconstruction in the domestic sphere thanks to economic renovation However, there remains a syndrome of traditional preferences for segregated and different gender roles Nowadays, as the country has been

advancing in its economic development after the Renovation (Đổi Mới) in 1986, Vietnamese

women also find themselves caught in the contradicting parallels: advancing in career while retaining the cultural values associated with them (Nguyen & Simkin, 2017) On the one hand, women advance with their participation in the social development of the country; on the other hand, they live up to the adage of “men build the house and women make it home,” bearing in mind that it is their roles and duties in homemaking, childrearing and maintaining family stability Women who fail to maintain both the public and domestic roles tend to face public sanction for losing the “face” of themselves and their family (Nguyen & Simkin,

2017, p 610) This is one fundamental structural reason that leads to various constraints at different levels in achieving gender equality in the country

Previous studies also mention that what makes the gender situation in Vietnam become intricate is the differences that have often been overlooked between the North and South of Vietnam The regional differences are attributed to the historical, cultural, social and economic context (Phuong, 2007) Before the country regained independence in 1975,

the majority of men from the Northern part joined the military The domestic roles of Northern women were thus much more firmly established than their Southern counterparts (Fahey, 1998) Later on, especially since the 1980s, the Southern part of the country became more exposed to globalization, forcing more participation of women in the labor market, and gradually induced changes in the labor division in both the public and private spheres (Fahey, 1998) As a result, women in the South are most often known to be more economically independent; and in their domestic sphere, have fewer constraints on their duties in the family There are now minor yet perceivable differences between the North and the South of Vietnam in terms of family and working roles of women, entailing further differences between rural and urban areas and discrepancies among women coming from different economic classes (Hoang, 2019)

Hoang (2019) articulates that Vietnam, as a socialist country, has not been truly classless and equal It has been proven that the country has attained a high level of gender equality However, the are two forms of gender equality that exist in Vietnam: formative (de jure) gender equality (i.e., the legal and policy framework) and practical (de facto) gender equality (i.e., the actual implementation and presentation of gender advocating institutions) (Le, 2013) Also, the idea of feminism is convoluted when being applied to Vietnam considering there is not a single word in the Vietnamese language that can best capture the connotation of this Western-originated word (Chiricosta, 2010) When it comes to gender equality in Vietnam, there is the invisibility of structural inequalities that perpetuate the

“self-contradictory gender regime” (Hoang, 2019, p 309) It is that urban, middle-class women whose lifestyles were transformed amidst the tension of “gender subjectivities and the socialist model of moral womanhood” of the state (Hoang, 2019, p 307) The ambivalence of the state in reframing a socialist model of womanhood could be further

revealed through the country’s legal and policy framework in recent years, as well as the institutions that contextualize, promote and define gender mainstreaming in Vietnam

2.1.2 The legal and policy framework for gender mainstreaming in Vietnam

Vietnam is a progressive country in terms of gender equality promoting policies The Communist Party's first Political Theses in 1930 affirms that it is critical to liberating people, social classes, and women in the national revolution The National Constitution in 1945 asserts that men and women are equal In the amended National Constitution in 1960, Article

24 articulates:

“For the same job duty, women receive the same salary as men The state guarantees workers and civil servants to take leave before and after giving birth and still receive full wages The state protects the interests of mothers and children, ensures the development of midwives, daycare centers and kindergartens It protects marriages and families.”

From such a favorable socio-political and economic context, Vietnam ratified the Convention on the Elimination of all Forms of Discrimination against Women (CEDAW)

in 1982, only two years since its official enforcement (Le, 2013) In 2006, the Law on Gender Equality was born as an effort in internalizing CEDAW The Law on Gender Equality includes 6 chapters and 44 clauses, with the content focusing on the goal of reaching gender equality, state policies, state management units and specific implementation strategies to promote gender equality Consequently, the first law on Domestic Violence Prevention and Control (DVPC) was passed by Congress in 2007 and came into effect in early 2008 This legal reform helped to open a window of opportunity, drawing domestic violence out of the state of being “a private matter” in Vietnam and into the attention of the general public, professional services and international agencies

The legal and policy framework for gender mainstreaming in Vietnam is often discussed in connection with the country’s process of decentralization Currently, there are four layers of government in Vietnam, which are the central, provincial, district and commune bodies, all residing under the Communist Party’s oversight According to Decision 11-NG/TW on Refining the socialist-oriented market economy institution, the state proposes a women’s quota of 30 percent to ensure the presence of female deputies in the National Assembly Though this is strongly maintained at the national framework (Vietnam has 26.7 percent of seats shared by women in the parliament), reality implementation of the policies at local levels has been weak (Truong, 2008) Even though the gender policy structure is relatively comprehensive in Vietnam, there are still institutional challenges, such

as a top-down approach and the lack of coordination mechanisms between government agencies, that limit the process of political decentralization (Jones & Tran, 2012) Limited gender awareness and a lack of gender impact analysis at different levels also contribute to limitations in the overall political environment of gender mainstreaming in Vietnam (Truong, 2008)

Besides, in terms of socio-economic context, it is reported that working women in Vietnam are still under-represented in top business management and decision-making positions (International Labor Organization, 2015) Though there is progress in developing

a supportive legal framework as well as the country’s international commitment to ensuring gender equality, women are still receiving restrictions in the workplace based on their reproductive role, the retirement age (which has recently been proposed for changes in 2019) and their responsibility for childcare On the surface, this discrimination is subtle As for its effects on women, these job restrictions create a “pipeline” or “glass-ceiling” effect (Morley, 2013), which means women are still facing barriers that bar them from their career advancement opportunities as well as leadership development As an answer to the outside

forces of the globalization and feminist ideas, Vietnamese socialism with the party-led government did not aim to eradicate traditional cultural values but find a connection between the traditional past and the socialist present to retain national identity (Chiricosta, 2010) This has created a unique pathway for the country in exerting and operating its institutional framework of gender mainstreaming

2.1.3 Institutional framework for gender equality in Vietnam

Ensuring de jure and de facto gender equality is the major challenge for all countries

in the world, and Vietnam is no exception In Vietnam, the responsibility for the implementation of gender policies is assigned to women-focused bodies such as the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU) and the National Committee for the Advancement of Women (Truong, 2008) The Vietnam Women’s Unions and its related agencies play a key role in mediating the progress in ensuring gender equality in different socio-economic aspects of the country

According to Schuler et al (2006), the Vietnam Women’s Union (VWU), as a mass organization “representing the rights and interests of women from all strata,” has functioned

as an intermediary institution between the Vietnam Communist Party (VCP) and the people

in terms of policy development and implementation of the country’s progressive approach

to gender equity According to Figure 2.1, the organizational structure of the VWU (Figure 2.1) reflects its representation at four layers of government and has always maintained the voluntary nature of its membership Under the oversight of the VCP, at the central level, the VWU partakes in policy and law drafting processes relating to women, children, family, ethnics and religions It has departments and agencies that shoulder the implementation tasks

as proposed and decided by the National Congress At the provincial, district and commune level, the VWU proves to have efficient grass-root activities that reach well to its members

However, overall, its political role is consultative, not decision-making (Waibel & Glück, 2013)

Figure 2.1

The Organizational Structure of the Vietnam Women’s Union

Note From Waibel & Glück (2013, p 349)

In general, VWU cannot be called an environment that aims for fostering gender activism in the country According to the Political Report of Central Executive Committee

of the Vietnam Women's Union (Session XI at the 12th National Women's Congress) in

2017, the organization reiterated its mandate of “Solidarity, innovation, equality and integration” to fit in with the state’s goals of “Affluent people, strong nation, liberty, justice and civilization.” More specifically, the VWU continues to cooperate with the Vietnam

General Confederation of Labour to spearhead the “Good at national tasks, good at

household tasks” movement from 2017-2022, which has long been caught in various

controversial ideas As this title is particularly aimed for women, its connotation somehow suggests a marginalization of women’s roles and emphasizes the exclusive role of women

in the private, unpaid sphere of labor division Meanwhile, it was claimed by the VWU that

and hence, promote their capacity to perform well the functions of a good mother, wife, and family “manager,” establishing their position in society and in the family

Also, in this Political Report, the VWU recognizes its drawbacks amidst the new requirements of the period of accelerating industrialization and modernization of the country’s international integration The movements that the VWU advocates were perceived

to have not well reached the women in non-state enterprises and organizations In addition,

it overlooks many social issues and gender stereotypes, such as single-mother, same-sex marriage, premarital abortion, that are affecting the psychology and emotions of female employees in different professional areas With a mandate that contributes to strengthening the Communist Party and state governance while striving for gender equality in Vietnamese society, the VWU is put at the crossroads of many roles that it needs to fulfill to function well in the gender regime of the country

Hoang (2019) refers to this gender regime as “Vietnam’s socialist gender regime,” being linked with the quest for national independence and the Marxist-socialist ideological paradigm The author cautioned against the tendency to view women’s political representation and their empowerment as a “straightforward causal relationship” (Hoang,

2019, p 12) Hoang (2019) also pointed out the need to consider the intersectionality of gender and class, stating that privileged women in leadership tend to be mistaken for empowered women, thus concealing the structural inequalities As they gather together, women have personal and collective needs: among these needs, whose voices should be heard becomes an issue Therefore, the role of VWU is questioned in terms of its collectiveness and representativeness for all women

The VWU, though being a primary vehicle for developing and implementing policies

to approach gender equality, still have programs that essentialize the domestic roles of

women, such as the top-down, tokenistic celebration for women who are “good at national

tasks, good at household tasks” and the movement that promotes the three criteria of

“studying actively, working creatively and raising children well” (Schuler et al., 2006) In

defending women’s rights and interests, the VWU presents “a unique Vietnamese feminist movement” (Chiricosta, 2010) that promotes the portrayal of socialist womanhood and triggers female solidarity What makes this unique image of Vietnamese female model appear positive was its idiosyncrasy as a socialist, collectivist answer to contrast with a notion of Western feminism that was deemed to be “individualistic and colonialist” in mentality (Chiricosta, 2010)

The Reform (Đổi Mới) in 1986 has allowed the VWU to shift its attention from class struggles to issues of personal interests and awareness of women’s rights, gradually driving its agenda away from the nationalistic one Ever since the Law on Gender Equality was ratified in 2007, several non-government organizations and academic institutions have formed a partnership for gender equality (Chiricosta, 2010) However, weaknesses are still present due partly to the hierarchical structure of the organization and a centrally planned gender policy that does not allow much leeway for innovative ideas and critical perspectives

at grass-root levels

Thanks to the Reform on 1986, Vietnam has become more open and also demonstrated its active international commitment to promoting gender equality as being a member of the CEDAW, the International Covenant on Economic, Social and Cultural Rights, Covenant on Civil and Political Rights, and ILO Conventions on Equal Remuneration and Discrimination (UNDP, 2012) UNDP (2012) also listed the strategic programs aiming for the country’s gender equality, which are the National Strategy on Gender Equality 2011-2020 and the National Programme on Gender Equality (2011-2015), with the latter concentrating on “strengthening women leaders at the administrative and legislative level.” Also, according to UNDP (2012), Vietnam was shifting from a direction

on gender equality from a Women in Development (WID) perspective to a Gender and Development (GAD) approach However, while GAD suggests the understanding of

“equity” in the redistribution of power in terms of roles and needs of different gender groups,

it does not stress the specific differences and the equality of rights and capabilities (Lee et al., 2019) In this respect, more recent approaches such as the post-structuralist approach and the human development approach direct more focus on the visibility of gender, higher education and human resource development textuality (Unterhalter, 2007, as cited in Lee et al., 2019) It is, thus, important to understand the actual approach Vietnam is focusing on in mainstreaming gender equality in higher education

Women issues and gender equality have been mentioned in Vietnam for a long time, but serious gender studies with women as target subjects just emerged since the socio-economic development in the 1980s (Tran, 2004) The academic institutions and research centers in Vietnam have also emerged as platforms that promote gender studies and raise awareness among intellectuals from different professions and at different levels of administration Originating from the study program called “Women, Labor and Family” from the Vietnamese Academy of Social Sciences, in March 1987, the Government set up the Center for Women Studies, which later became Institute for Family and Gender Studies (IFGS) Since the 1990s, many ministries in the country started to create departments for women’s studies For instance, the Ministry of Construction established the Division of Gender Studies and Urban Development in Hanoi University of Architecture (Tran, 2004) This trend suggests that most of the agenda for gender equality research in Vietnam is women-centered with a focus on their career advancement and family-related issues

There emerged recently another mass organization called the Vietnam Intellectual Women’s Association The association was established as a member of the VWU under Decision No 176/QD-BNV dated February 25 in 2011, by the Ministry of Home Affairs

According to its official website2, the association deems itself a socio-professional organization that unites and promotes the talents and intellect of female academics from universities and academic institutions for the equality and development of Vietnamese women in the current context of innovation, development and international integration This also signals an awareness in the realm of higher education where previously the issue of gender equality has hardly been brought to the policy agenda Under recent changes in labor division, there have been more female academics coming from different educational backgrounds (Dao & Duong, 2018) It is believed that human resources, including researchers and social practitioners, will further the process of integrating development projects within their disciplines (Tran, 2004)

All in all, Vietnam originally, in principle, does not align its gender outlook along with the concept of Western feminism In its own unique pathway, the country has been progressing towards a gender regime that celebrates socialist ideals while allowing, to a certain, space for women to voice their needs and interests Recent changes in international integration, socio-economic context and division of labour have led to the emerging role of the female academics at universities where women are not merely treated as victimized subjects but also as an agent of change Meanwhile, the concept of gender mainstreaming that the country adopted needs revisiting in the higher education environment, bound by the socialist gender regime of Vietnam and situated in university renovation processes Thus, it

is critical to study university contexts and the roles that female academic leaders themselves perceive to deepen understanding of what changes have been rendered and what future trajectories may look like

2.2 Gender and academic leadership in higher education

This part revisits the idea of the university as an organization/institution that harbors a culture of gender bound in specific country contexts In general, studies in both Western and non-Western contexts are reviewed in order to portray differences and commonalities regarding women’s experiences in academia, particularly in academic leadership at HEIs First, there is a need to conceptualize academic leadership and how this is defined or recognized differently in different contexts Second, global discourses on the experiences of women academics are discussed, departing from that conceptualization Last but not least, the landscape of public universities and its women academic leaders are revealed through prior studies in the context of Vietnam, portraying how the concept of women’s empowerment unveils in the interwoven threads connecting the organization and the “person”

in academic leadership at public HEIs

2.2.1 Academic leadership in higher education

From the occupational perspective, school leadership is influenced by several factors Miller (2018) conceptualized four dimensions that make up the nature of school leadership, namely the personal, relational, environmental, and social dimensions (Figure 2.2)

Figure 2.2

Dimensions of School Leadership Nature

Note Retrieved from Miller (2018, p 167)

According to Figure 2.2, school leaders exert personal values, beliefs and communicate these to the students, teachers and staff They also work with several internal and external actors to build partnerships for their institution Meanwhile, as a leader, one needs the means to show that the roles and achievements of staff and teachers are recognized This entails decision-making activities such as budgeting, procurement and facilities management School leaders cannot lead in isolation but need to realize a reciprocal relationship with the people around them and the social context they are located in (Miller, 2017; Miller 2018) The traits of school leadership is situated within an individual, and at the same time, showcased through how school leaders navigate and mediate factors in a school’s internal and external environment (Miller, 2017)

Recent studies propose that there is a need to have a specific conceptualization of

“academic leadership” due to the critical role of academic leaders in designing a framework for development programs in their institution (Dinh et al., 2020; Žydžiūnaitė, 2018) Dinh

et al (2020) recognized that there had been a shift from the traditional conceptualization that regards academic leadership in terms of behaviors performed by individuals to collaborative endeavors carried out by leaders and group members, which resonates with previous studies regarding the characteristics of school leadership (Asgari et al., 2019; Miller, 2018; Wilkinson & Bristol, 2017) These studies highlight the notion that exploring the perceptions of academic leadership and motivations to become an academic leader can support policymakers to arrive at effective ways to engage more potential participants in academic leadership development

Yet previous theorizations of the nature of school leaders tend to focus on the institutional factors and overlook the intellectual capacity of leaders as a critical definitional element In an attempt to conceptualize different forms of school leadership, Žydžiūnaitė (2018) distinguished the conceptualization of intellectual leadership and academic

leadership These two concepts are often thought of as having overlapped meanings

However, Žydžiūnaitė (2018) cited Macfarlane and Chan’s (2014) analysis, stating that

intellectual leadership is inherent to the scholar and is expressed through his passion for transformation, personal virtues, commitment to service and his problem-solving skills Meanwhile, an academic leader, besides possessing the quality of an intellectual, needs to

be engaged with the HEI, committed to the institution’s objectives, and knows how to mediate alternative views to help him/her become successful in that environment In a sense, academic leadership requires a deeper connection with the institution’s regulations and structures, and it needs to also encompass the meaning of intellectual leadership Any form

of leadership will always put the leader at an interplay between being both a faculty member and an administrator (Smith and Hughey, 2006) While intellectual leadership is a natural function, mission and role of a researcher, academic leadership requires managerial skills besides the research skills and the expertise in the academic field (Macfarlane & Chan, 2014,

as cited in Žydžiūnaitė, 2018) Leadership in academia is shaped by the operational contexts

with social, economic and policy dynamics (Smith & Hughey, 2006) Academic leadership,

as a constituent of leadership in academia, implies a reciprocal relationship with the context

in which the institution is situated, affecting both individual and organizational development

Blackmore (2007) points out that most literature on academic leadership tends to overlook the presence of disciplinarity, suggesting that there exist “discipline-related variations” in leadership, though not much research has focused on this area This notion aims towards acknowledging the significance of middle-leadership positions in an HEI Accordingly, academic leaders at middle leadership positions are supposed to demonstrate fair and efficient management skills through how they carry out shared visions, goals and strategies of the school and the department where they belong In this regard, Smith and

Hughey (2006) assert that academic leaders have the mediating role as they are put between the interests of their faculty members and the administration at school

Blackmore (2007) also emphasized that academic leadership assumes a form of transformation and collaborative leadership through which the leaders ensure a climate of mutual trust and respect with an effective and efficient reward system In support of this idea, Asgari et al (2019) conducted empirical research that showed there was a mediation between perceived organizational support and job satisfaction through leadership styles and behaviors, thus, emphasizing the critical role of transformational leadership The academic world now requires a step away from transactional leadership, which indicates leaders who are passive and only seek to maintain the status quo, to transformational leadership that promotes an emotional relationship with followers as well as their self-fulfillment and career pathway (Asgari et al., 2019)

Overall, there is a reciprocal relationship between leadership and different levels of cultural contexts, implying a social dimension when looking at leadership Wilkinson and Bristol (2017) also proposed looking at leadership from the angle of social justice, thus, assumed the recognition of social categories such as gender, race, class, religions and so forth Among these social categories, gender differences in school leadership appear as an inherently relevant dilemma for the school leaders and leadership practices (i.e., decisions and actions taken) (Buckles, 2019; Carvalho & Diogo, 2018) More often than not, women leaders are judged against male norms in terms of personality traits such as assertiveness, decisiveness or emotion handling Burkinshaw (2015) further articulated the university context as what is called “communities of practice of masculinities.” Gender-neutral policies are not always working and may even transform to become gender-blind (Buckles, 2019) When it comes to recent interests in the conceptualization of academic leadership at HEIs,

it is necessary to review the systemic gender differences and inequalities so that the

conceptualization could be approached in a more inclusive way Understanding the experiences of women in academe and several factors that affect their experiences contributes to this quest for knowledge regarding gender and academic leadership in higher education

2.2.2 Women’s experiences in academia

From a human resource management perspective, universities embrace a universal goal of creating human capital for the stakeholders and the economic institutions (Tran et al., 2020)

In managing the human resource that contributes to fulfilling this goal, universities encounter the structural problems associated with gender differences, especially in terms of women academics’ experiences with research productivity, work duties and representation

at leadership positions

To Obers (2015), there is a possible correlation between the low representation of women as academic leaders and their low research productivity rate He states that academic success is based on an individual network structure (i.e., the support of fellow scholars or mentors) and is influenced by their social resources (i.e., access to information, sponsorship, moderate teaching commitments, and attendance at international conferences early in one’s career) (Obers, 2015) In this regard, women often take longer to build academic reputations due to aggravated inequalities generated by the broader society in which they live (Muberekwa & Nkomo, 2016) Women also encounter more difficulties on the tenure track due to affiliation, while they are the ones who have greater affiliation needs than men (Fritz

& van Knippenberg, 2017; Hart, 2008) Heads of department in the current higher education climate act as academic leaders, role models and mentors, and may influence women academics and their research productivity (Cheung & Halpern, 2010a; Obers, 2015)

There is a common consensus that the marginalization of women's leadership in education is due to male epistemology hegemony (Killingsworth et al., 2010; Morley, 2014)

Killingsworth et al (2010, p 536) explained the term as “a male way of understanding leadership” that marginalizes women’s experiences According to Morley (2014), the global academia is imbued by male-dominated leadership; and it depends so much on women to visualize the strategies needed to allow more of them in the system of knowledge production

In a similar vein, Burkinshaw (2015) refers to leadership in higher education as

“communities of practice of masculinities,” emphasizing there is a systemic underrepresentation of women leaders Similarly, Baker (2016) addresses the persistence of

a gender gap among university-based academics in “liberal welfare countries” specifically (in her study, the cases of Canada and New Zealand), despite the development of equity policies and “family-friendly” initiatives How this is perpetuated is a socially rooted problem of gender dynamics and a result of the continued silence and unawareness of the issue

Morley (2014) indicates that, across cultures, gender is not simply a demographic variable but an ever-evolving concept materialized through socio-political and organizational practices Again, the significance regarding the connotation of gender may vary across temporal, spatial and linguistic contexts According to Airini et al (2011), gender imbalance among senior university academics, while being an acknowledged problem in many countries, experiences slow progress built toward gender equality In particular, Airini et al (2011) categorized what affects the working relationship and university environment, as well as invisible rules and personal circumstances, as work and non-work factors hindering female leadership and career development In the case of Hong Kong, women academics are placed in the situation that is called “a foot in two cultures”: While they have a more social affinity with China than the West, their universities tend to have great similarities with the Western world (Aiston, 2014) Consequently, there are gaps between the university’s commitment to gender equality and actual practice In later studies,

discourses suggest that department chairs at universities think there is no issue regarding gender equalities (Aiston et al., 2020) However, it is this lack of awareness that has led to further discriminatory behaviors These behaviors could be translated into “micro-inequities,” which are small events that are hard to prove and covert (Aiston & Fo, 2020)

In their study, examples of micro-inequities included unequal gender representation

in power division, favoritism in leadership appointment, the “credibility problem” that women face and the double-bind dilemma when women attempt to make themselves visible and become a “queen-bee” (Aiston & Fo, 2020, p 11) Bennan (2013, as cited in Aiston and

Fo, 2020) states that these micro-inequities occur below the threshold of “conscious decision-making” (p 15), silencing the individuals who do not fit in with the work environment The opposite of micro-inequities is “micro-affirmations”, which, according to Brenna (2013), include fair, consistent and timely feedback in decision-making According

to Aiston and Fo (2020), while micro-inequities do not deliver the whole story, they can help address the imbalance, raise awareness and minimize the negative effects The point worth considering is that these micro-inequities have been retained by both the women academics and the universities: women academics remain silent and the organization allows certain factors that sustain this state of silence (Aiston et al., 2020; Aiston & Fo, 2020) In general, how micro-inequities were introduced and perceived can deepen understanding of university as a gendered organization

Other researchers pointed out that universities are not gender-neutral and meritocracy-based as they may appear (Britton, 2017; Carvalho & Machado, 2010; Gonzales

& Terosky, 2020) According to Carvalho and Machado (2010), while universities aim for new institutional leadership models rather than the old managerial styles, the senior academic managers still reproduce the traditional stereotypes that hinder the development process and the potential of women academics Meanwhile, though it is possible for women

academics to create impacts on the changing situation, it is actually more difficult for them

if there is a leadership style that has long been imposed upon the university Gonzales and Terosky (2020) generalized that, on the track of regaining equity, women academics also rely on different relationships in different ways In the worst-case scenario, they could end

up in a hostile academic setting while fulfilling other roles attributed to them by society

There exist several stereotypical expressions reflective of women academics’ experiences in academia According to Amery et al (2015), the stereotypes were shaped in the formed of metaphors which were generated or used in the research on women in academia Amery et al (2015) categorized these metaphors into two groups: metaphors about the academic institutions and metaphors about women academics The former type of metaphors refers to representation, seniority, leadership and work-life balance (e.g., glass ceiling, pipeline effect, the old boys’ network, chilly climate, the ivory basement), while the latter deals with gender norms and women’s experiences (e.g., mothers/housekeepers, strangers/outsiders, catfights, queen bees) (Amery et al., 2015; Buckles, 2019; Morley, 2013; Rossiter, 1993) The existence of these metaphors could be considered a double-edged sword On the one hand, these metaphors carry their evocative, relatable meanings that could

be readily and quickly communicated (Amery et al., 2015) On the other hand, metaphors can uncritically naturalize the inherent structures as inevitable and discourage further changes Moratti (2020) raises an important point that these metaphors are part of the social construct, a type of language that influences behaviors and power relations, ultimately shaping our assumptions According to Husu (2001), the perspective of “women as a problem” has been shifted to “academia as a problem,” yet it is not widely and evidently recognized What these metaphors emphasize is that academia does have a gendered nature and the focus in finding the source of the problem has always revolved around the women

All in all, previous studies suggest systemic disadvantages, structural inequalities, and the prejudices bound in the cultural context in which women academics live and carry out their academic duties This system is translated into invisible regulations at HEIs, gender imbalance in academic leadership positions, tenure track difficulties, which further problematizes the inherent interdependency between structure and personal agency The critical question to ask is how women academics are empowered to overcome their obstacles and not just give up and keep silent Once again, responses vary across different contexts as previous studies suggest And in the scope of this thesis, the context is Vietnam, a socialist country with a distinct “feminist” outlook

2.2.3 Women academic leaders in Vietnam’s public higher education institutions

The landscape of public universities in Vietnam

According to Pham and Tran (2020), public universities in Vietnam can be divided into four groups according to governing authorities (Figure 2.3), indicating the centralized role of the state in managing their operation It also means that a large number of universities

in Vietnam received their budget from the state, and have their operations conforming to the state’s policies and legal framework Another implication is that public universities do not enjoy much leeway in initiating their own strategic changes in development planning

Figure 2.3

Distribution of Public Universities by Governing Authority in VietnamNote

Statistics from MOET 3 (2014, as cited in Pham & Tran, 2019)

3 Ministry of Education and Training (MOET) (2014) Official Letter 1279/BGDDT-DPF- Announcement of list of public universities

and colleges

According to the Ministry of Education and Training (MOET), Vietnam currently has a total of 454 HEIs, of which only 95 are private universities (Tran, 2018) Along with this, the number of students attending public universities rose gradually over the years and reached 2,217,437 in the academic year 2016-2017, requiring universities to enhance their efficiency in academic operations (Tran, 2018) This consequently puts more pressure on lecturers as more time spent on teaching means less time for research activities, which is contradictory to the research orientation agenda that most public universities are pursuing

One of the goals proposed in the Higher Education Reform Agenda - HERA (Resolution 14/2005/NQ-CP) adopted in 2005 by MOET is to improve the governance situation of higher education and research system, indicating that public universities are being encouraged to be more proactive in their research trajectory as part of the renovation process (Tran, 2017) On the premise of HERA, the government of Vietnam has adopted autonomization as a key policy in reforming public academic institutions (Vo & Laking, 2020) However, current progress does not reflect a broad transfer of authority from the central state to public universities In particular, the two national universities in Ha Noi and

Ho Chi Minh City are still under the direct control of the state and do not show any significant breakthroughs in terms of academic and financial autonomization According to Salmi and Pham (2019), Vietnam’s higher education landscape has changed significantly, but the change in governance structures and leadership models have occurred more slowly For instance, not many public universities in Vietnam have a functioning “university council” besides the rectorate board (usually 01 rector and 02-04 vice-rectors) The appointment of the rector belongs to the authority of the MOET, other ministries or provincial authorities, not by university councils However, the establishment of university councils with proactive functions and representation of not only university leaders but also outside stakeholders

within the public higher education systems will allow HEIs to enjoy more institutional autonomy (Salmi & Pham, 2019)

The holistic challenges for Vietnam’s public HEIs are limited state funding and the lack of autonomy in their governance system In addition, academic managers found it restrictive to make decisions independently, especially under the management of the state and the Communist Party Besides, there are currently no research universities in Vietnam (Salmi & Pham, 2019) According to the Vietnam Government’s criteria, to be labeled a research university, the research expenditure at the university should account for at least 20 percent per year, and the faculty members should have 50 percent of their workload allocated for research activities (Salmi & Pham, 2019) The incentive to increase university profile amidst both regional needs and national socio-economic development requires public universities, as the critical educational institutions that produce the country’s main human resource, to adapt to changes so that they can perform better in terms of research activities

As their main budget still depends on the government, any foreseeable breakthroughs are quite hard to define (Tran, 2018)

Women academic leaders at public universities

Dao and Duong (2018, p.3) pointed out that the meaning of “academics” or

“intellectuals” in the Vietnamese context are synonymous, both meaning people that pursue intellectual labor, attain high education background in a certain profession, and possess independent thinking capacity They play a role in enriching and creating knowledge, as well as beneficial products for society In the scope of this study, the word “academic leaders” will be used consistently to refer to academic staff or lecturers who are holding leadership position and at the same time still teaching and doing research at a certain academic department/faculty/research center/administrative office at the university

There is a conspicuous state of gender disparity in higher education leadership attained through a website search and survey at 176 universities in Vietnam (Tran & Nguyen, 2020) (Table 2.1) In addition, Tran and Nguyen (2020) also state that there is a preference towards male leaders as female leaders’ legitimacy is hard to prove and is currently not convincing in the perceptions of the subordinates

Table 2.1

Gender Distribution in Higher Education Leadership in Vietnam

Note Statistics from Tran & Nguyen (2020, p 6)

As shown in Table 2.1, among the 171 rectors, only 13 (7.6%) are female In other less “senior” leadership positions, the pattern is the same, yet the lowest percentage found

at the senior leadership position indicates that gender representation is still unattainable in the bigger picture Several studies regarding leadership and gender in higher education in Vietnam also share similar patterns of findings In a quantitative survey conducted by Tran

& Nguyen (2015) on 4020 female academics at universities in five provinces in the North

of Vietnam, 55.7 percent of them answered “Yes” to the question on whether, where they work, there were women who deserved but did not have the chance to be a leader According

to Vu (2019), today, female leaders find themselves at the center of this complex network

of political, cultural, and economic transformations in Vietnam The author also raised the question, “Why are there still very few female leaders in Vietnam despite the country’s gender quota policy?” One of the answers is that the gender quota policy shows commitment,

but it is not a requirement Therefore, it holds no power in dismantling the norms which have been maintained by the news media, society and other social realms

The commonality that Vietnamese women academics have in comparison to other countries’ counterparts is that they are always conscious of their roles in the public and private spheres (Tran & Nguyen, 2020) For barriers, there are psychological barriers (i.e., think manager – think male attitudes) and the cultural barriers (at the macro-socio-political level, meso-organizational level, and micro-individual level) that hinder women’s career and leadership development (Nguyen, 2013) From a gendered lens, they were perceived and perceived themselves to be more vulnerable, emotional and to struggle more with work-family balance

In terms of gendered roles, Dang (2017) conducted in-depth interviews with 20 level women leaders and five top-leaders at HEIs in the Mekong Delta in southern Vietnam and confirmed that women are carrying a double-burden along their career pathway: adept

mid-at work while maintaining harmony in the family Vu (2019), in his theoretical paper, reviews that it is also the double-burden norms that hinder women from career advancement Besides, both authors also point to the large gap between policies and actual gender practices, citing results indicating that patriarchal hierarchy still persists in the administrative system

of HEIs, regardless of the north or south geographical region This also resonates with studies that take the social justice approach on exploring women academics’ experiences in both Asian and Western contexts (Aiston & Fo, 2020; Burkinshaw, 2015; Chung & Halpern, 2010)

As shown in Figures 2.4 and 2.5, Dang (2017) presents the academic and administrative career paths to middle-level leadership in the context of public universities

in Vietnam Universities have protocols to follow and the leadership advancement pathway

is a continuous, ordered pathway, which seems to take longer for academic ones