A GENDER GAP: WHY DO MEN STILL RULE THE (FASHION) WORLD?
Fashion remains a male-dominated business, wherein women spend 226% more than their male counterparts, but men still hold majority of the power in regards to running the fashion houses.
More women are graduating with a fashion education than men, but instead of giving them a competitive edge to climb the industry ranks, women are still primarily running the shop floors and design studios as opposed to the houses themselves, but it’s not for a lack of ambition or qualification.
We live in a world where women are still expected to prioritize family over career without complaint and when men do so, they are self-sacrificing, headline-worthy heroes.
The distinctiveness of Vietnamese culture has been discussed by Vietnamese scholars reflecting attempts to reclaim a Vietnamese historical identity. Confucianism remains an ideology influential on social hierarchy and order, including family relationships. Indeed, Vietnam was under China’s control for over one thousand years (111 BCE – 938 CE), and this has undoubtedly had lasting impacts, especially on people’s ways of thinking.
Vietnamese Confucian ideals of ‘men superior, women inferior’ hold that being a male is valued more than being a female. Men are the backbone at home and in society, and are associated with noble qualities and virtues such as kindness, decorum, uprightness, wisdom, and trustworthiness. Meanwhile, women are seen from a functional perspective: they need to skilfully take care of housework, maintain a tasteful look, have manners, and practise loyalty. Men are perceived as being more intellectually and physically capable, while women’s life accomplishments are judged by their marriage.