Impact of an Empowerment and Employability Program for Adolescent Girls: Evidence From India
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The study highlights how early adolescence presents a critical opportunity to shift gender attitudes and build self-efficacy among girls in India, where restrictive social norms around mobility, education, and employment often limit girls’ potential. The findings show that when girls are equipped with life and employability skills—and when communities, schools, and […]
Young Adolescents’ Endorsement of Restrictive Gender Norms: Evidence From a Community-Based Intervention in Cote d’Ivoire and Sierra Leone
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study shows that targeting adult stakeholders through community-based norms diffusion can effectively reduce young adolescents’ endorsement of restrictive gender norms—particularly among boys. It highlights that gender attitudes during early adolescence are strongly shaped by peers, families, and broader social contexts, and that community-level interventions can shift these attitudes when they […]
Challenges in Changing Social Norms: Evidence from Interventions Targeting Child Marriage in Ethiopia
Key Social Norms Take-Aways: This study underscores that changing social norms is possible but complex. Interventions prompted discussion and shifted some attitudes but also deepened divisions. Gender and power hierarchies remained largely intact, and future programs must anticipate resistance and support collective norm change. Objectives: This study evaluated whether social norms interventions and economic incentives […]
Estimating the Cost of the Design, Production, and Dissemination of Social Media Videos for Social and Behavioral Change: Evidence From Merci Mon Héros in Niger and Côte d’Ivoire
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study highlights the role of youth-led media in challenging taboos and social norms around reproductive health (RH) and family planning (FP) in Francophone West Africa. By sharing personal stories and thanking supportive adults, the Merci Mon Héros (MMH) videos promoted open intergenerational communication, helping to normalize RH conversations. The campaign […]
“As young men we have a role to play in preventing sexual violence”: Development and relevance of the men with conscience intervention to prevent sexual violence
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study illustrates how social norms tied to masculinity, leadership, and gender equity can be challenged through structured, reflective interventions with young men in positions of influence. It shows that gender-transformative programming can shift deeply held beliefs about power, control, and male privilege—especially when young men are engaged as allies in […]
Masculinite, Famille, et Foi : End of Project Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The MFF (Masculinité, Famille, et Foi) intervention illustrates that engaging faith leaders and faith communities is a powerful strategy for transforming social norms related to gender equality, family planning (FP), and intimate partner violence (IPV). The project shows that shifting norms is possible when communities are encouraged to reflect on and […]
Masculinities, Faith, and Peace in Nigeria
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The Masculinities, Faith, and Peace (MFP) project in Nigeria highlights how faith-based, community-led dialogue can shift entrenched social norms around gender roles, family planning, and intimate partner violence. By reframing religious narratives through an inclusive and interfaith lens, MFP successfully challenged norms that equated masculinity with virility and sanctioned violence against […]
More Than Brides Alliance: Endline Evaluation Report
Key Social Norms Take-aways: The More Than Brides Alliance (MTBA) endline evaluation shows that shifting social norms—particularly around the value of girls’ education, the ideal age of marriage, and gender roles in relationships—is central to reducing child marriage. While individual-level knowledge and attitudes improved across intervention sites, broader normative change was uneven and highly context-specific. […]
On her own account: How strengthening women’s financial control impacts labor supply and gender norms
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that enhancing women’s financial control can lead to shifts in both individual and community-level gender norms about female labor. Without directly targeting norms, the intervention resulted in more progressive personal beliefs and a reduction in perceived social stigma around women working—particularly among women who were initially constrained by […]
The effectiveness of documentary films to reduce violence against women: Experimental evidence from Tanzania
Key Social Norms Take-aways: This study demonstrates that documentary films portraying severe violence may unintentionally suppress reporting of domestic violence and fail to shift harmful social norms. In deeply entrenched normative contexts, such media may reinforce feelings of isolation or irrelevance among viewers, highlighting the importance of both content and delivery format in social norm […]