Gendered Disparities of Subjective Wellbeing and Community Connection Among Vietnamese Migrant Women

Gendered inequalities in wellbeing among women from culturally and linguistically diverse (CALD) backgrounds remain insufficiently understood, despite evidence of intersecting constraints related to caregiving, employment, language, and social participation. Vietnamese migrant (VM) women represent a significant and understudied CALD group, offering a valuable case study for examining these dynamics in a Western settlement context. Drawing on subjective wellbeing homeostasis and intersectionality theories, this study examines gender differences in wellbeing among VM adults in Australia. It explores how migration may be associated with women’s wellbeing. Data were pooled from two community-based studies involving VM in Australia ( N = 240, 81.3% women, aged 18–65 years). Wellbeing was assessed using a culturally validated Vietnamese-language version of the Personal Wellbeing Index-Adults (PWI). Hierarchical regression analyses examined gender differences in overall and domain-specific wellbeing, controlling for study membership. A secondary exploratory comparison contrasted VM women ( n = 32) with women living in Vietnam ( n = 71). VM women reported lower wellbeing than men ( b = −9.49, SE = 4.60, t = −2.06, p = .040), lower satisfaction with standard of living ( b = −11.15 , SE = 5.02, t = −2.22, p = .027), health ( b = −11.58, SE = 5.29, t = −2.19, p = .030), and community connectedness ( b = −12.87, SE = 6.48, t = −1.99, p = .048). The exploratory comparison revealed no significant difference in wellbeing; however, VM women reported markedly lower community connectedness than women in Vietnam ( b = −8.57, SE = 4.01, t = −2.13, p = .035). These findings highlight gendered wellbeing disparities among VM women and suggest that migration may erode social resources central to women’s wellbeing, a pattern consistent with broader evidence on CALD women and underscoring the need for gender-responsive, culturally grounded post-migration supports.