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About

About

The Effects of Social and Gender Norms on Adolescent Health and Livelihood Outcomes in LMICs (SNA) is a two-year project that examined how social and gender norms influence health and livelihood outcomes of adolescents and young people (ages 10–24) in low- and middle-income countries, with a particular focus on adolescent girls and young women in sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. Funded by the Gates Foundation from 2023-2025, the project conducted three scoping reviews on the links between norms and adolescent outcomes, and on interventions using entertainment media and engaging faith or cultural champions. Findings from these reviews highlighted evidence gaps, generated actionable recommendations for future investments in norm change interventions, and supported intervention designs in India, Kenya, and Nigeria.

This repository houses the literature and insights from the scoping reviews. We invite you to explore and use this evidence to inform your research, programs, and advocacy.

The final report of this Evidence Review can be found here.

What are social norms and why do they matter?

Social norms are the unwritten rules which govern our societies, actions and behaviors. Social norms are the fabric of society; they confirm what people should do, and limit what people cannot do.

Social norms matter because they are powerful drivers of adolescent girls’ and young women’s behaviors, shaping their access to education, healthcare, safety, and economic opportunities. They can sustain harmful practices—including child marriage and gender-based violence—or create supportive environments that enable girls and young women to thrive. Understanding how norms work is therefore essential for designing programs and policies that lead to long-term, sustainable change.
Supportive social norms are essential for positive health and livelihood outcomes for adolescent girls and young women globally. This site, along with the referenced resources, was created to advocate for greater investment in enabling normative environments and to improve program design, implementation, measurement and evaluation of norms-shifting interventions.

The site has three main sections: a listing of articles from the social norms evidence review, a heat map of evaluated social norms programs, and a collection of research articles exploring social norms outside of formal evaluations. We hope the site and heat maps help inform and strengthen your work.

Bringing Norms Evidence Together in One Place

This project addresses a major gap: although social and gender norms profoundly shape adolescent health and livelihood outcomes —especially for adolescent girls and young women—in low- and middle-income countries, evidence on these norms and the interventions that shift them has been limited, fragmented, and hard to access. Supported by the Gates Foundation, our team conducted three scoping reviews on how norms influence outcomes and how entertainment media, faith leaders, and cultural champions are driving change across sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia. The reviews revealed evidence gaps, generated actionable recommendations, and informed intervention design in India, Kenya, and Nigeria. This microsite and repository consolidate this dispersed literature into one searchable space, helping programmers, funders, governments, and researchers access the evidence they need to design stronger programs, guide investments, shape research agendas, and advance effective norm change.

Who’s Behind this Project?

This project was developed by a multi-disciplinary team, guided by an expert advisory board, and implemented in close collaboration with the Social Norms and Agency Learning Collaboratives. This multi-stakeholder approach ensures that the evidence reflects diverse perspectives, is grounded in local contexts, and remains relevant and usable.

Research Heat Map
Intervention Heat Map
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Featured Resources

overview

Overview

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module1

Module 1

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module2

Module 2

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module3

Module 3

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module4

Module 4

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State of the Evidence
Module 1 reviews how social and gender norms shape adolescent girls’ and young women’s health and livelihood outcomes across LMICs. A review of over 400 studies reveals strong evidence on sexual and reproductive health and gender-based violence, but gaps remain in women’s economic empowerment and norms measurement. Most studies rely on attitudes rather than norms indicators, limiting comparability. The module maps how norms intersect across fertility, gender roles, agency, and violence, and highlights the need for consistent theory, improved measurement, and clearer implementation documentation, laying the foundation for later modules.
How Norms Drive AGYW Outcomes

Module 2 examines how norms influence behaviors, showing that descriptive and injunctive norms interact with structural forces—laws, economic opportunities, and broader social conditions —to shape outcomes. It underscores that norms are distinct from attitudes and must be measured separately to identify true levers for change. Rigorous designs and intersectional analysis are needed to unpack causal pathways. Sustaining norms change requires supportive systems and multi-sectoral strategies. The module identified where programs can intervene most effectively and highlights evidence gaps.

Entertainment Media for Norms Change
Module 3 explores how entertainment media—radio, TV, and digital storytelling—can shift harmful norms at scale. When grounded in theory and informed by formative research, media can model positive behaviors, spark reflection, and reinforce community dialogue. Pairing media with interpersonal communication deepens engagement and supports diffusion of new ideas. Many evaluations, however, lack detail on reach, exposure, sequencing, and often measure attitudes instead of norms. Despite these limitations, entertainment media is a promising, adaptable, and cost-effective strategy for norms change across diverse settings.

Faith and Cultural Champions for Norms Change
Module 4 highlights the role of faith leaders and cultural champions in shifting deeply rooted norms through trusted relationships and community roles. Effective interventions build champions’ capacity, integrate with existing social and religious structures, and operate across individual, household, and community levels. Champions also support scale-up by grounding programs in local realities and helping to diffuse new practices. While evidence on scalability and mechanisms of change is limited, mobilizing influential leaders strengthens community ownership and increases the likelihood of sustained impact.