Women breaking barriers: Nhung rises as consultant in male-dominated manufacturing

Nhung, a female consultant in the manufacturing sector, began her career as a line supervisor at a manufacturing enterprise. Motivated by her passion for improvement and her desire to create a broader impact, she transitioned to training and consultancy.

Despite her competence and resourcefulness, opportunities for female consultants like Nhung remain limited in the male-dominated manufacturing sector. Women in production consultancy face barriers, including fewer leadership opportunities, balancing family responsibilities, long travel hours, and the social dynamics of engaging with senior management which is predominantly male. This challenge aligns with the findings in the ILO report on "Gender diagnostics in support of transforming employment frameworks in Viet Nam", which highlights gender disparities in employment and leadership roles across various industries.

This gap is further exacerbated by enterprises’ preference for highly experienced, mostly male consultants. Yet, such systemic limitations prevent the industry from benefiting fully from diverse perspectives. Women can bring unique insights to business and leadership consulting and their experiences can particularly resonate in enterprises that predominantly employ women , contributing to more inclusive and effective workplace improvements.

Bridging the gender gap through targeted capacity building

To address these challenges, the ILO Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work programme, in partnership with ProfM Consulting, piloted a capacity-building initiative specifically for female consultants. This programme integrated the proven ILO Sustaining Competitive and Responsible Enterprises (SCORE) Training of Trainers (TOT) curriculum to provide hands-on experience and leadership opportunities, in line with the recommendations of the ILO report on gender-responsive employment frameworks.

Nhung was a participant in this initiative. She was entrusted with leading a consultancy project at Phuong Trang Steel, a male-dominated enterprise. ProfM took a bold step by positioning Nhung as the project lead, while other senior consultants provided support in the background. This decision was not without challenges, as the Phuong Trang team initially hesitated to engage in the improvement programme due to their heavy workloads.

Nhung’s background in production environments, coupled with her persistence and clear communication, allowed her to overcome these challenges. She led Phuong Trang Steel through a transformative journey, delivering significant improvements in productivity and reinforcing the report’s key argument that gender-inclusive employment policies can drive economic and operational success.

Key achievements at Phuong Trang Steel

Nhung’s work led to measurable improvements in productivity, quality, cost savings and working conditions. Among these, working conditions and cost savings saw the most significant advancements, reflecting the effectiveness of the implemented changes. Nhung, with her strong commitment to improving working conditions for female employees, directed the team to implement several initiatives, for example to reduce heavy lifting in the workshop and make Work-in-Progress (WIP) transport tasks significantly easier for staff.

Nhung earned the respect and trust of the improvement team. Her success exemplifies the ILO report’s assertion that promoting gender equality in employment leads to tangible benefits for both workers and businesses.

Scaling impact: A model for inclusive consulting services

The success story of Nhung and Phuong Trang Steel serves as an effective pilot for the Productivity Ecosystems for Decent Work programme to expand this approach to more partners. The goal is to create greater opportunities for female consultants while providing more inclusive and impactful consultancy services to SMEs.

Nhung’s journey is a testament to the potential of women in consultancy and leadership roles, reinforcing the ILO report’s call for systemic changes in employment frameworks. By dismantling barriers and fostering gender-inclusive policies, Viet Nam can maximize its workforce potential, ensuring sustainable and equitable economic growth.

For more information, read the full ILO report on "Gender diagnostics in support of transforming employment frameworks in Viet Nam“.