Reshaping Adolescents' Gender Attitudes: Evidence from a School-Based Experiment in India

Seema Jayachandran, Diva Dhar and Tarun Jain

No 13413, CEPR Discussion Papers from Centre for Economic Policy Research

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 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: J12 J13 J16 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp and nep-hme
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Citations: View citations in EconPapers (81)

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Journal Article: Reshaping Adolescents' Gender Attitudes: Evidence from a School-Based Experiment in India (2022)
Working Paper: Reshaping Adolescents' Gender Attitudes: Evidence from a School-Based Experiment in India (2018)
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