The rising rainbow flag
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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.
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.
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
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