Norms Behind Closed Doors: A Field Experiment on Gender Norm Misperceptions and Maternal Employment Decisions in Couples

Marie Boltz, Monserrat Bustelo, Ana M. Díaz and Agustina Suaya

No 14486, IDB Publications (Working Papers) from Inter-American Development Bank

Abstract: This paper studies whether gender gaps in womens labor-market outcomes are sustained by systematic misperceptions about social and spousal support for maternal employment. Using a representative sample of 1,732 cohabiting couples with young children in Bogotá, we show that while support for working mothers is nearly universal, both women and men substantially underestimate others supportparticularly fathersand frequently misperceive their partners views. We then implement a randomized information intervention that provides personalized feedback on prevailing local attitudes. The intervention reduces these misperceptions without altering individuals own attitudes. Treated men become 9 percentage points more likely to prioritize their wife for a scarce career-building opportunity, while womens choices change little. In the short run, treated women report more intensive job search and treated men place greater weight on workfamily balance. Effects are concentrated among women already active in the labor market, highlighting both the potential and the limits of norm-correcting information.

Keywords: Gender norms; Female Employment; Pluralistic ignorance; RCT. (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: C93 D91 J16 J21 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2026-01
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-soc
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:idb:brikps:14486

DOI: 10.18235/0013926

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