Taming Traditional Gender Norms and Patriarchy on Social Media in Vietnam

Social media has shown itself as a site wherein a narrow set of gender roles and norms are propagated, especially based on advertising appeal and algorithmic outcomes. These platforms are, however, also capable of expanding and diversifying society's understanding of gender roles and norms, particularly through campaigns targeting key demographics, via their scale and reach, speed and timing of engagement, creating and sharing content that is visually and emotionally engaging, allowing for informal and conversational engagement, creating both publicly assessable content and fostering closed communities, anonymity, and breaking down barriers to engagement. In a Vietnamese context, the intersection between social media and gender norms is limitedly understood, as the current academic attention is mainly given to restructuring the socio-cultural and political infrastructures hindering gender equality. Hence, this study demonstrated how gender is discussed on social media, with specific emphasis on Facebook, to evaluate the impact of Investing in Women, an initiative of the Australian government, and their campaigns to support inclusive economic growth through women's economic empowerment in Southeast Asia.