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 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 i 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 ii 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 cosupervisor, 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 iii 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 Introduction 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 iv 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 v 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 268 Bibliography 276 vi 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 vii 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 viii List of Abbreviations VND : Vietnamese dong AUD : Australian Dollar GSO : General Statistics Office UNFPA : United Nations Population Fund ix 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 multidimensional 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 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 x 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 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 xi Tóm tắt nội dung luận án Thơng qua nghiên cứu định tính câu chuyện đời 15 phụ nữ di cư làm việc khu vực phi thức thành phố Hồ Chí Minh, nghiên cứu phát triển khái niệm đa chiều tập trung vào tổn thương kinh tế, xã hội thể chất người nữ di cư để tương tác phức tạp tổn thương đa chiều họ Nghiên cứu tổn thương xã hội nhân tố tiềm ẩn dẫn tới tổn thương kinh tế thể chất người tham gia Do định kiến giới văn hoá tương tác với tình hình trị kinh tế trị Việt Nam, phụ nữ di cư thường đối mặt với bất bình đẳng quyền lực tự chủ giá trị họ thường xem nhóm thấp thứ bậc xã hội Có lẽ hình thức nguy hại chịu đựng mà phụ nữ di cư trải nghiệm nhận thức họ số phận, giới tầng lớp xã hội  ... 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. .. 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... 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