Hanoi, 22 December 2020 – WISE has officially launched He Can, a campaign that promotes the idea that men can be active in caring responsibilities in the same manner that women can participate more in the economy. The campaign kicked off through the release of a recorded talk show with male role models including sports journalist Dinh Duc Hoang, entrepreneur Hoang Anh Tu, Film Director Nguyen Hoang Diep and twin vloggers Trung Anh and Viet Anh, more popularly known as Vlog1977.

The campaign is supported by Investing In Women, an initiative by the Government of Australia that promotes women’s economic empowerment in South East Asia, including Vietnam.

Through He Can, WISE is promoting discussion on the norms that limit women and men’s roles at home and in the economy. These include (a) perceptions that a woman’s primary role is a caretaker for children and family members, or home maker, (b) perceptions that a man’s role is that of primary income earner or provider for the family, (c) perceptions that certain job types are specific to women and others to men, leading to occupational segregation, and (d) perceptions of women as better in supportive roles and men in leadership roles.

The two-year campaign will deploy various activities to engage urban millennials, who IW research suggest are demonstrating positive shifts from traditional gender norms towards greater gender equality. WISE’s campaign will engage urban millennials by reimagining gender in traditional idioms in language and arts, profiling role models of modern women and men, and sparking media and social media conversations with influencers.

Announcing the launch of the campaign, Mrs. Tu Thu Hien, CEO of WISE said: “With He Can, we want to review gender stereotypes from a more balanced perspective for both sexes. Current gender stereotypes have a negative impact not only on women as we have long seen, but also on men. Therefore, changing social perceptions about the roles and abilities of men and women will bring benefits to both.”

In support of the launch, Robyn Mudie, Australia’s Ambassador to Vietnam, said, “Gender equality is fundamental to enhancing business competitiveness, building equitable societies and communities and driving inclusive growth. However, across the globe, progress has been held back by social norms, attitudes and practices that restrict women’s participation in the economy and men’s role in the home. By supporting urban millennials as innovators and early adopters, the WISE campaign helps enable change towards greater equality between women and men in workplaces, homes and the society.”