Despite national progress in poverty reduction and vocational education reform, many women—particularly those living in rural, mountainous, and ethnic minority communities—continue to face systemic barriers shaped by gender norms, geographic isolation, language barriers, unpaid care burdens, and limited mobility. These “triple burden” of gender, ethnicity and geography restrict their participation in skills training and exclude them from decision-making processes that shape their livelihoods. At the same time, Vietnam’s Technical and Vocational Education and Training (TVET) system often remains inaccessible, top-down, and insufficiently gender-responsive, leaving women’s needs and lived realities overlooked. Yet ethnic minority women and other marginalized women possess deep local knowledge, resilience, and leadership potential that are critical to building inclusive, future-ready economies. When women are excluded from skills development and governance, entire communities lose opportunities for growth, innovation, and sustainability.

SIATS is built on the conviction that meaningful economic transformation requires centering women’s voices, agency, and leadership—because equitable, resilient development cannot be achieved without inclusive systems that work for everyone.