SMU SOE Seminar Series (December 5, 2023): How Are Gender Norms Perceived?

Please click here if you are unable to view this page.

TOPIC:

HOW ARE GENDER NORMS PERCEIVED?

ABSTRACT Actual and perceived gender norms are key to understanding gender inequality in society. In this paper, using newly collected nationally representative datasets from 60 countries that cover over 80% of the world population, we study gender norms on two distinct policy issues: 1) basic rights, allowing women to work outside of the home, and 2) aﬃrmative action, prioritizing women when hiring for leadership positions. We establish that misperceptions of gender norms are pervasive across the world. The nature of the misperception, however, is context-dependent. In less gender-equal countries, people underestimate support for both policies, particularly among men; in more gender-equal countries, people overestimate support for aﬃrmative action, particularly among women, and underestimate support for basic rights. We provide evidence of gender stereotyping and overweighting of the minority view as potential drivers of the global patterns of misperceptions. Together, our ﬁndings indicate how misperceptions of gender norms may obstruct progress toward gender equality, but also may contribute to sustaining gender policies that are not necessarily favored by women themselves. Keywords: Social norms, misperceptions, gender. Click here to view the paper. Click here to view the CV.
		PRESENTER Alessandra Voena Stanford University
		RESEARCH FIELDS Economics of the Family Labor Economics Development Economics Gender
		DATE: 5 December 2023 (Tuesday)
		TIME: 4pm - 5.30pm
		VENUE: Meeting Room 5.1, Level 5 School of Economics Singapore Management University 90 Stamford Road Singapore 178903

© Copyright 2024 by Singapore Management University. All Rights Reserved.