Social policy and life of female workers

"The impact of social policies on the lives of female workers in non-state enterprises in Hanoi" is the topic of PhD thesis of PhD student Hoang Thi Nga, defended at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities on July 21, 2010.The thesis has highlighted some limitations in the implementation of social policies in our country today for the lives of female workers such as: environmental conditions are not guaranteed, causing a decline in the health of female workers; part-time work and overtime limit female workers' ability to study and improve their education and expertise, and make it difficult to find a partner or raise children; wages and salaries are not stable and satisfactory, leading to a reduction in opportunities for female workers to participate in cultural and spiritual activities. The thesis has proposed some solutions to improve and supplement social policies to improve the lives of female workers in non-state enterprises such as: improving policies and mechanisms on employment, social insurance, wages, wages, working time, etc.; improving and supplementing state documents related to the following contents: unit price of wages, minimum wage, working time, rest during pregnancy and childbirth for female workers. It is necessary to further enhance the role of social organizations in protecting the rights of workers and in particular, workers need to proactively raise their awareness to protect their own legitimate rights. Prof. Dr. Pham Tat Dong (reviewer 1) highly appreciated the thesis of the doctoral student, especially the research data of the author. The professor commented that the data presented by the author is not much different from the data of a research project that the professor participated in on the lives of workers, surveyed nationwide 10 years ago. Therefore, according to the professor, the topic has contributed to demonstrating the problem that the current life of workers still has many difficulties, and has not improved much in the past decade, especially for female workers. In addition, Prof. Dr. Pham Tat Dong also frankly discussed some theories that the doctoral student applied in his thesis. He said: “The author mainly uses theories on capitalism and sociology of Western researchers, unintentionally forgetting the ‘lim trees and sen trees’ in the country. Meanwhile, those ‘lim trees and sen trees’ have had studies that are very close to the actual situation in the country and close to the topic”. Agreeing with the comments of Prof. Dr. Pham Tat Dong, Associate Professor Dr. Nguyen Huu Minh (reviewer 2) also gave accurate comments on the topic, that is: The topic has contributed to enriching theories on sociology, and is one of the first studies on the impact of social policies on the lives of female workers. Associate Professor Dr. Le Tieu La said: “The thesis has vividly and multi-dimensionally described the impact of social policies on the material and spiritual lives of female workers in non-state industrial zones.” The general comments of the members of the state-level doctoral thesis evaluation council were: The thesis is a scientific work of profound theoretical and practical significance, addressing a topical issue. 7/7 members of the council recognized the state-level doctoral thesis, of which 5/7 members voted to evaluate the thesis as excellent. Thus, there was another excellent state-level doctoral thesis in sociology successfully defended at the University of Social Sciences and Humanities. The thesis is not only a scientific basis for policy makers in formulating appropriate policies that bring practical results, but also a source of reference for future teaching and research activities in sociology.