Working Paper: NBER ID: w25331
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 a school-based intervention in India that engaged adolescents in classroom discussions about gender equality for two and a half years with the goal of eroding their support for restrictive gender norms. Using a randomized controlled trial, we find that the program made attitudes 0.18 standard deviations more supportive of gender equality, or, equivalently, converted 16% of participants' regressive views. In addition, self-reported behavior became more aligned with progressive gender norms, particularly among boys. The effects observed in the short run were still present two years after the program had ended.
Keywords: gender attitudes; school-based intervention; India; randomized controlled trial; gender equality
JEL Codes: I25; J13; J16; O12
Edges that are evidenced by causal inference methods are in orange, and the rest are in light blue.
| Cause | Effect |
|---|---|
| Intervention (D74) | Gender attitudes (J16) |
| Intervention (D74) | Self-reported behaviors (C91) |
| Intervention (D74) | Girls' intentions to apply for college scholarships (I24) |
| Intervention (D74) | Boys' behavior change (C92) |
| Social desirability bias (C83) | Self-reported attitudes and behaviors (C91) |