Working Paper: CEPR ID: DP13413
Authors: Diva Dhar; Tarun Jain; Seema Jayachandran
Abstract: Societal norms about gender roles contribute to the economic disadvantages facing women in many developing countries. This paper evaluates an intervention aimed at eroding support for restrictive gender norms, specifically a multi-year school-based intervention in Haryana, India, that engaged adolescents in classroom discussions about gender equality. Using a randomized controlled trial, we find that the intervention increased adolescents' support for gender equality by 0.25 standard deviations, a sizable effect compared to other correlates of their gender attitudes such as their parents' views. Program participants also report more gender-equitable behavior; for example, boys report helping out more with household chores.
Keywords: gender equality; preference formation; social norms; persuasion
JEL Codes: J12; J13; J16; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| school-based gender equality intervention (I24) | increase adolescents' support for gender equality (I24) |
| school-based gender equality intervention (I24) | boys exhibit more gender-equitable behavior (C92) |
| school-based gender equality intervention (I24) | no significant change in girls' educational and professional aspirations (I24) |
| boys exhibit more gender-equitable behavior (C92) | increase in engaging with the opposite sex (J12) |