| Abstract | This study attempts to describe the relative monetary and time contribution of Vietnamese married women as compared to their husbands in the household productive efforts in the five peripheral districts of Ho Chi Minh City.
It reveals what women think about job opportunity, women's status, who are the decision maker in the family and who are participating most in the political and government development programs.
It also tries to test the correlation between women's position and their contribution to national development.
Comparison is made using the main findings in Kedah State (Malaysia), Northern Samar (Philippines) and Chiang Mai(Thailand) carried out in 1976 and 1977 as well as among the five peripheral districts, wherever possible. Results show that there is no correlation between women's position and their contribution to national development for the four countries as tested by simple linear regression analysis and using the same criteria. In Vietnam, a correlation is found between commune development and the wife's time contribution.
A multiple regression analysis with the stepwise method reveals that by, using an F-statistic test, there is a weak correlation of the wife's relative participation in politics (X7) with the wife's monetary contribution. The priority of each factor's contribution to the correlation is the following: wife's relative participation in politics (X7), wife's relative participation in government development programs (X6), wife's relative expenditure (X2), wife's relative mobility (X3), wife's equality in decision making (X4), wife's opinion towards equality (X5), and level of development (X1), supposing that the model is valid. There is also a correlation between the level of commune development (X1) and the wife's time contribution. The F-statistic test shows that the model can include only five predictors and the priority of each factor's contribution to the correlation is the following: the level of development (X1), wife's relative mobility (X3), wife's relative participation in politics (X7), wife's relative participation in government development programs (X6), wife's opinion toward equality (X5). The predictor in those 2 sets of hypotheses demonstrates that (1) the increased time is not wholly devoted to making money or (2) the money gained. does not increase proportionally with an increased time of the wife's contributions.
Quantification Theory Type 1 is applied for hypotheses on correlations between time and monetary contribution and (1) equality in decision-making and (2) wife's opinions towards equality. These hypotheses can be accepted. It is shown that several factors contribute to a correlation between, (1) wife's equality in decision-making or (2) wife's opinions on equality and wife's relative time or monetary contributions.
Many measures should be implemented to improve women's status such as: improvement of vocational training and complementary education with special attention to women, improvement of creches and kindergartens, make women more self-confident and induce them to think of equality, development of family planning, health and nutrition, and household management programs, more dissemination of media use in the peripheral areas, better and fully equipped public utilities and encouragement of animal husbandry. |