Social Norms and Gender Equality : A Descriptive Analysis for South Asia
Despite decades of economic growth, gender inequality in South Asia remains remarkably high. Although not the only one, social norms are a crucial driver of various gender outcomes, including differential economic participation. Using repeated cros...
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Language: | English English |
| Published: |
World Bank, Washington, DC
2022
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| Subjects: | |
| Online Access: | http://documents.worldbank.org/curated/en/099836008162257499/IDU00777b24900e5004b75099da096c16c1db28a http://hdl.handle.net/10986/37895 |
| Summary: | Despite decades of economic growth,
gender inequality in South Asia remains remarkably high.
Although not the only one, social norms are a crucial driver
of various gender outcomes, including differential economic
participation. Using repeated cross-sectional data from
nationally representative surveys, this paper explores the
long term trends of gender outcomes and social norms
(proxied by attitudes towards gender roles) in South Asia.
The results corroborate the evidence that there has been
almost no progress in gender equality in South Asia over the
past half-century. There has been little progress on female
labor force participation, marriage age, agency, intimate
partner violence, and preference for sons, with education
being the only exception. The lack of progress is apparent
among all socioeconomic groups, including women who live in
urban areas, are educated, and have higher incomes. Gender
attitudes also remain unchanged, and in some cases, have
become more conservative and have a negative relationship
with gender outcomes. Better measurements of social norms
and better understanding of how their constraining role can
be loosened may be critical for achieving gender equality in
the region. |
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