Gender Equality in Property Ownership among Ethnic Minority Households: Actual Status and Influential Factors

Abstract

Based on surveys carried out in 2018 and 2019 within national level research project “Some Fundamental Issues on Gender Equality in Ethnic Minorities in Vietnam” from 2,894 representatives of ethnic minority households in eight provinces, author analyses the existing situation relating to the titling of certificates of land-use rights and house ownership (LURHO certificates) and property division among children in ethnic minority households, and factors influencing this division. The results show a positive move towards gender equality in the titling of the LURHO certificates and the division of assets among children in ethnic minority households. The change has been taking place slowly, and the proportion of households, in which both husband and wife are co-holders of the certificates, remains quite small. For property division among children, gender equality has been more improved. Although more assets are sometimes given to sons or daughters in accordance with traditional customs, the number of households dividing assets equally among children accounts for the highest proportion. Traditional customs and culture about heirs or heiresses play a significant role in house ownership and property division. Owing to vigorous impacts of education, mass media, and modernisation, the role of those factors may fade in the future.