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
Outcomes: Gender‑Based Violence, Sexual and Reproductive Health, Women’s Economic Empowerment
View SourceKey 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 overall normative environment, including women’s internalization of inequitable norms, sustains gender inequality. Interventions must therefore target community-wide norm change rather than focusing on individuals alone.
Objectives This study aimed to examine the association between community-level men’s and women’s inequitable gender norms and multiple dimensions of women’s empowerment in India, including freedom of movement, decision-making power, economic empowerment, and health empowerment.
Methods The study used nationally representative data from India’s National Family Health Survey (2019–21), including 63,112 married women and 101,839 men. Community-level gender norms were constructed by aggregating men’s and women’s attitudes toward wife-beating as proxy measures of inequitable norms. Multilevel random-effects logistic regression models were used to assess associations between these norms and four dimensions of women’s empowerment, controlling for individual and contextual covariates.
Results Higher levels of inequitable gender norms at the community level were significantly associated with lower odds of women’s freedom of movement, decision-making power, and health empowerment. Specifically, a one standard deviation increase in inequitable norms reduced the likelihood of these empowerment outcomes. No significant association was found between gender norms and economic empowerment.
Conclusions Inequitable gender norms are a key risk factor limiting multiple dimensions of women’s empowerment in India. Both men’s and women’s norms independently shape these outcomes, underscoring the importance of addressing the broader normative environment. The study highlights the need for comprehensive, community-level interventions that engage both genders to transform harmful norms and advance gender equality.
Disclaimer: These summaries were generated with the assistance of artificial intelligence and are based on the interpretation of source documents. While efforts have been made to ensure accuracy and clarity, there may be errors or omissions. Users are encouraged to consult the original documents for complete and authoritative information.