The Socialist Republic of Vietnam is a communist country in Asia bordered by China to the north, Cambodia to the southwest, and Laos to the northwest. Vietnam underwent market liberalization, or doi moi, also known as renovation, in 1986. Vietnam had a population just shy of 87 million people as of July 2009. Women in Vietnam continue to face a number of challenges, such as political underrepresentation, inequality in access to education and the formal labor market, restrictions in reproductive choice, and violence. Vietnamese women comprise approximately 25 percent of the National Assembly. However, women are underrepresented at senior levels of decision-making, with only one female minister in place as of November 2009.

There is no gender gap in primary or secondary education at an ...