Work With Vietnamese
  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author

vietnam cultural literacy

The rising rainbow flag

Like in many other Asian countries, gender inequality is still an issue in Vietnam, especially in the countryside. However, the country is making progressive improvements on this by promoting gender equality and women's empowerment via such legislative framework as the "2006 Law on Gender Equality" and the "2007 Law on the Prevention and Control of Domestic Violence". Nowadays, gender equality is better in the big cities. If you work for a foreign-invested company or an international corporate in Vietnam, most likely you don't see gender inequality as an issue among your Vietnamese co-workers.
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National Assembly Chairwoman Nguyen Thi Kim Ngan, one of the top 4 leaders of Vietnam
Surprisingly, Vietnam is quite open-minded to the LGBT (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, and Transgender) community. On January 1st 2015, the country was hailed as a leader on gay rights in Southeast Asia after its government abolished a ban on same-sex marriage. That means, while same-sex marriages have yet to be afforded equal rights, ceremonies are no longer illegal. Since the ban was lifted, LGBT couples have organized their same-sex marriages in many special ways. But perhaps the most famous gay couples in Vietnam is Son Doan and Adrian Anh Tuan, whom have been seen as a symbolic couples of the LGBT community in Vietnam, an example of happy same-sex marriage. News about them (their wedding, their new house, their new business, their plan to have children, etc...) have been covering the media since their marriage in early 2015. That can also be seen as an indicator that Vietnamese society is now more open-minded to the LGBT community. In fact, many of my fellow workers are gays and most of them come out, proudly. So if you are a LGBT, Vietnam may not be the best destination for you to live or work but it is definitely not the worst either.
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Son Doan and Adrian Anh Tuan, a very famous gay couples in Vietnam
Another interesting thing to note here is that Vietnamese has different definition of sexual harassment. Generally speaking, many Vietnamese think that sexual harassment needs to involve physical contacts. As a result, when working with Western people, some of my Vietnamese male staff were accused of sexual harassment when telling their female colleague (via video conference) that "You looks very pretty today" or "You have very beautiful eyes". To avoid such cultural gap, organizations should provide some sorts of induction or orientation on the definition of sexual harassment that is defined by the company.
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Key takeaways

  • Gender inequality is improving in Vietnam, especially in big cities
  • Vietnam is quite open-minded to the LGBT community
  • In 2015, same-sex marriage is no longer illegal in Vietnam
  • Many Vietnamese think that sexual harassment needs to involve physical contacts

More to read...

  1. Who is Ms. Nguyen?
  2. How old are you?
  3. When it's time for siesta...
  4. To hear what isn't said
  5. Tet = Christmas + New Year
  6. Smart casual? What does it mean?
  7. Rubber time
  8. We request the honor of your presence...
  9. Do you want to relax, Sir?
  10. Where Midas is welcome
  11. From outings to the company trip
  12. The rising rainbow flag
  13. Song of a thousand honks
  14. To bribe or not to bribe...
  15. It is more than just money...
  16. The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
  17. Good luck, bad luck
  18. The ugly Vietnamese
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  • Cultural Literacy
    • Who is Ms. Nguyen?
    • How old are you?
    • When it's time for siesta...
    • To hear what isn't said
    • Tet = Christmas + New Year
    • Smart casual? What does it mean?
    • Rubber time
    • We request the honor of your presence...
    • Where Midas is welcome
    • From outings to the company trip
    • The rising rainbow flag
    • Song of a thousand honks
    • To bribe or not to bribe…
    • It's more than just money
    • The six dimensions of Vietnamese culture
    • Good luck, bad luck
    • The ugly Vietnamese
  • For Employers
  • Author