Effect of Sustainable Livelihood Capital on the Productive and Operational Activities of the Female Labor Force in Vietnam’s Mangrove Areas

This study examines the impact of Sustainable Livelihood Capital (SLC) on women’s participation in production activities in Vietnam’s mangrove areas, using a gender-focused approach to advance gender-sensitive livelihood theory. Employing binary Logit regression and cross-tabulation analysis, model robustness was confirmed via the Bayesian Information Criterion (BIC). Findings identify financial and human capital as core factors influencing participation, with access to credit emerging as the factor exhibiting the strongest correlation. Livelihood stability and practical vocational training support women’s long-term productive engagement. The study highlights the livelihood paradox and resource lock-in effects: over-reliance on mangrove income reduces participation, limiting diversification, while over-exploitation correlates positively with participation as a survival strategy, exerting short-term environmental pressure. Conversely, owning traditional assets like fishing boats negatively affects participation, showing traditional factors hinder economic restructuring. The findings of heterogeneity analysis emphasize the necessity of policy intervention. For example, women under 56 are primarily financially driven; those over 56 exhibit lower participation and face severe human capital bottlenecks, especially education. Larger households face significant financial barriers despite having abundant human capital. Married women face dual constraints from financial and traditional physical capital, while single/divorced women hold advantages in education and opportunities. Furthermore, In areas far from fishing ports, financial and human capital are core drivers. This research provides quantitative evidence on the complex, heterogeneous effects of SLC on women’s productive engagement, offering a scientific foundation for multi-dimensional, targeted policy measures to foster sustainable livelihood diversification.