The COVID-19 pandemic has had profound impacts on the Vietnamese economy, with particularly severe consequences for the textile and garment industry and the hospitality sectors. This paper draws on data from a nationally representative phone survey conducted in 2021, encompassing 998 households, as well as a follow-up survey in 2022 that re-interviewed 777 of those households. The study focused on households with members employed in the aforementioned sectors between May and July 2021. The findings reveal notable gender disparities in the socioeconomic impact, particularly in relation to employment, income loss, and unpaid care responsibilities. One year after the onset of the crisis, many households, especially female-headed ones, continued to experience economic hardship, with income recovery lagging behind employment recovery. Women continue to bear a disproportionate burden of unpaid care work, underscoring persistent gender inequalities. This study calls for the urgent need for gender-responsive policy interventions that recognize and address these disparities, including enhanced support for unpaid care work, improved fiscal sustainability of social transfer programs, and the integration of citizen data through digital platforms to facilitate inclusive and equitable recovery.