The intersection of career aspirations and family planning among women in Lagos State: a qualitative analysis
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms—particularly those related to gender roles, spousal authority, and expectations around motherhood—play a central role in shaping women’s family planning decisions in Lagos. The discussion highlights that patriarchal norms position men as primary decision-makers in reproductive matters, often limiting women’s autonomy and requiring spousal approval for contraceptive use. At the […]
The role of community-level men’s and women’s inequitable gender norms on women’s empowerment in India: A multilevel analysis using India’s National Family Health Survey-5
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Community-level gender norms—held by both men and women—play a critical and independent role in shaping women’s empowerment. Inequitable norms that justify wife-beating reflect broader patriarchal expectations and are associated with reduced mobility, decision-making power, and health knowledge among women. Importantly, the similar effects of men’s and women’s norms highlight that the […]
Determinants of young People’s gender norm attitudes related to rights and equity in Southeast Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Young people in Southeast Nigeria simultaneously endorse women’s empowerment and uphold entrenched patriarchal norms—particularly male dominance in household decision-making and social roles. Social norms are shaped through family structures, education, religion, and gender socialization, demonstrating that shifts toward gender equity require addressing broader social systems, not just individual attitudes. Objectives: To […]
Social Norms and Female Labour Force Participation in Bangladesh: The Role of Social Expectations and Reference Networks
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Social norms around women’s employment in Bangladesh are shaped by social expectations within family reference networks, particularly the approval of fathers and husbands. Norms are not fixed; support for female employment changes when people perceive that others approve. Male family members’ attitudes are the most influential social cue, while peers and […]
Exploring intersections of localised gender norms and unanticipated effects of a sexual and reproductive health intervention: implications of respect and being a ‘good girl’ in Zambézia Province, Mozambique
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that deeply held gender norms about being a “good girl” — including deference, modesty, and sexual restraint — strongly shaped how a sexual and reproductive health (SRH) intervention was perceived in rural Mozambique. While the Women First program aimed to empower girls, it unintentionally reinforced local expectations of […]
Impact of Tipping Point Initiative, a social norms intervention, in addressing child marriage and other adolescent health and behavioral outcomes in a northern district of Bangladesh
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This impact evaluation explicitly examines how CARE’s Tipping Point program influenced injunctive and descriptive norms related to gender, marriage, and adolescent girls’ rights in rural Bangladesh. The study used a dedicated norms module to assess what adolescents and adults perceive others expect of them (injunctive norms) and what they believe others […]
Qualitative endline results of the tipping point project to prevent child, early and forced marriage in Nepal
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Organized diffusion is essential for shifting social norms around intimate partner violence (IPV). This study demonstrates that interpersonal diffusion of anti-violence messaging can lead to meaningful change, particularly in communities with less equitable baseline norms. Social networks play a central role in facilitating this change, highlighting the importance of targeting interventions […]
Delaying child marriage through community-based skills-development programs for girls: Results from a randomized controlled study in rural Bangladesh
Key Social Norms Take-aways: Although the study does not use formal social norms theory or measure norms directly, it clearly identifies normative influences—especially community expectations and social pressures—as key drivers of early marriage. In the background, the authors frame child marriage as shaped by family concerns about reputation, girls’ perceived readiness for adult roles, and […]
Gender Norms, Beliefs and Academic Achievement of Orphaned Adolescent Boys and Girls in Uganda
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study underscores how entrenched gender norms favoring boys continue to disadvantage orphaned adolescent girls in Uganda’s education system. Despite holding more egalitarian beliefs themselves, girls face societal and familial biases that prioritize boys’ academic success. Encouragingly, adolescents exposed to more gender-equitable beliefs—especially girls—were associated with better academic performance, suggesting that […]
Stepping Stones and Creating Futures intervention: shortened interrupted time series evaluation of a behavioural and structural health promotion and violence prevention intervention for young people in informal settlements in Durban, South Africa
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights that integrating economic empowerment with gender-transformative interventions can effectively shift social norms among young people in informal settlements. Notably, it found that material improvements in young women’s lives—such as increased income and reduced financial dependence—enabled them to better apply knowledge from gender-transformative programming, leading to reduced experience of […]