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

Diva Dhar, Tarun Jain and Seema Jayachandran

No 25331, NBER Working Papers from National Bureau of Economic Research, Inc

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.

JEL-codes: I25 J13 J16 O12 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2018-12
New Economics Papers: this item is included in nep-exp, nep-gen and nep-hme
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Published as Diva Dhar & Tarun Jain & Seema Jayachandran, 2022. "Reshaping Adolescents' Gender Attitudes: Evidence from a School-Based Experiment in India," American Economic Review, vol 112(3), pages 899-927.

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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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