Challenging gender norms: Bringing gender-transformative approaches (GTAs) to livestock communities to the Northwest Highlands of Vietnam

In many field trips, most women and men farmers we met in Mai Son district, Son La province, Vietnam, acknowledged that the status of women in Thai and Mong ethnic minority communities had significantly improved compared to previous generations. For example, women are now more involved in livestock production. 

However, the decision-making power of Thai and Mong women remains significantly lower than that of men. The unwritten social rules, known as gender norms, dictate what women should and are allowed to do, often keeping them behind. For instance, social expectations such as “It is not acceptable for Thai and Mong women to make important decisions related to livestock production (selecting breeds, treating diseases, and marketing cattle)” are often hidden and not readily apparent in surface-level interactions. These norms continue to pose major obstacles to livestock productivity by preventing women from taking the initiative to plan productivity improvement. By limiting the roles and opportunities available to individuals, gender norms hinder women’s empowerment, particularly affecting the livelihoods of livestock keepers and overall gender equity.

A strategy of gender-transformative approaches (GTAs) focusing on transforming inequitable gender norms in livestock production was developed to promote women’s empowerment under the CGIAR Science Program on Sustainable Animal and Aquatic Foods (SAAF). GTAs are approaches that focus on gender norms, which are the root cause of gender inequality. GTAs begin by understanding and identifying the communities’ existing gender norms. This is followed by intervention measures that challenge these gender norms, so that communities and society recognize that gender inequality originates in these norms and subsequently change. GTAs stimulate people to shift their gender awareness into more positive attitudes and gender-equitable behaviors.

In Son La, the gender-transformative strategy was implemented in dual approaches: Gender-equity behavior change communication targeting women and men in Thai and Mong ethnic communities, and enhancing gender capacity for local officials, Women’s Union staff at provincial, district, and commune levels, leaders of the commune's People's Committee, and the heads of villages. Before that, a qualitative study was conducted to identify gender norms in livestock in Thai and Mong villages in Mai Son district to shape gender messages.

Gender experts from the International Livestock Research Institute (ILRI), Alliance of Bioversity International and CIAT (ABC), and the Vietnam Women's Academy (VWA) co-designed the gender-transformative activities in Mai Son district, Son La province. VWA developed these messages into leaflets, poems, and videos suitable for use in communication sessions with ethnic minority communities. The main idea behind these products is to get people to rethink current gender norms in livestock and embrace new, gender-equal behaviors.

The GTA communication scope helped women and ethnic minority communities in the district recognize women's potential. GTAs encouraged them to strive for change so that women can become autonomous in decisions related to their livestock production and their lives. 

“Now, in our village, most husbands and wives have equal decision-making power. This result is partly thanks to the project,” – Luong Thi Son, head of the Women’s Union in Cu Nghe village, Son La province.

“There’s been a change! Now, I have the right to decide for my own private life. For example, in the past, I had to ask my husband for permission whenever I wanted to go somewhere. Now, I can just go and only inform him when I get back. Whether it's for work or going out with friends, I have my own freedom” – Ca Thi Dien, Thai ethnic, 33 years old.

The GTA gender capacity-building scope focused on a core understanding of gender norms, gender analysis tools, and actions for change. Local officials - including Women’s Union staff at the provincial, district, and commune levels, People’s Committee leaders, and village heads - were trained to conduct gender analysis and mainstream gender into their commune livestock development plans. They collectively identified gender issues and discussed the challenges of empowering women in livestock production. With the idea behind this capacity-building effort, gender norms transformation is expected to be reached not only at the community level but also at the institutional level.

"In the past, the province implemented various policies to support farmers in developing production. These supports have primarily been focused on technical assistance in livestock. We haven’t had guidance for farmers on gender. From a state management perspective, we still have an implementation deficit regarding the gender dimension. I sincerely hope the Son La officials take advantage of learning gender to develop policies that bring harmonious benefits to people in remote areas," - Nguyen Ngoc Toan, Head of the Sub-Department of Animal Health, Son La Province, delivered the opening speech at the gender training session in Son La.

In recent decades, professionals, development practitioners, and those working for the advancement of women in Vietnam have focused on changing gender stereotypes, but they haven’t discussed gender norms and norm transformation much. If you type "chuyển đổi giới" (gender transformation), "phương pháp chuyển đổi giới" (gender transformation methods) or “các tiếp cận chuyển đổi giới” (gender transformative approaches) in Vietnamese on the Internet, you will only find articles about the biological transition of human sex. Discussions of the articles are not related to transformative approaches that challenge gender norms to create societal change towards women's empowerment and greater gender equality. GTAs are relatively new approaches in gender science in Vietnam.

The collaboration between ILRI, CIAT, and VWA in co-designing and implementing GTAs in Son La has paved the way for introducing GTAs not only to livestock communities in Son La but also to academic lectures at the Vietnam Women's Academy. The insights from the GTAs have been transformed into lectures for students at VWA and local officials in northern, central, and southern Vietnam. The lectures reached nearly 1,534 students and learners (70% women) in 2025. They recognized gender norms as unwritten rules, questioned what once felt natural, and practiced more equal participation in classrooms, communities, and future workplaces. The project is not only building understanding but also creating a lasting ripple of reflection, voice, and change. 

Watch videos to learn more about our gender work:

Transforming gender norms and empowering women in livestock farming

CGIAR empowers gender equality in agriculture in Vietnam