Affirmative action refers to policies that aim to insure that all groups of individuals are represented in various environments (schools, governments, corporations, etc), policies that sometimes attempt to make up for past discrimination. A new proposal in Vietnam seeks to do just that. In an attempt to make up for the gender imbalance caused by sex selection, the proposal would give financial incentives to families with “only two baby girls.”

Under the plan, the Government will provide a number of benefits to those who have two daughters and comply with the policy that every family should have no more than two children.

The benefits include a payment when a family has a second daughter and support for school tuition and health insurance for both daughters when they grow up, Trong said.

According to an officer of the General Department of Population, in fact, a number of provinces have implemented this policy. For example, Thai Binh Province presents gifts for the families having two daughters while Hoa Binh Province encourages and supports women and girls, especially families that have only daughters.

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