Measuring perceptions of gender norms and why perceptions matter for policy

Dam under Construction in Sri Lanka. Photo: Lakshman Nadaraja/World Bank

Latest research from Leonardo Bursztyn et al. shows that misperceptions of gender norms are pervasive across the world. Data from 60 countries, covering 80% of the population and 95% of the world GDP shows widespread underestimation of societal support for women’s basic freedom to work outside the home and the often-understood conflict between genders for women’s work might not actually be present. Bursztyn and Yang, 2022 argue that aligning perceived and actual perception could be a policy intervention that may improve women’s labor force participation.

In a brilliant keynote lecture, Leonardo Bursztyn presented his innovative framework for measuring perceptions of gender norms and the surprising results. 

The lecture recording is available in the 'Latest Videos' section on the IEA website.

Explore the papers presented at the conference here:

How are Gender Norms Perceived?

Bursztyn, L., Cappelen, A. W., Tungodden, B., Voena, A., & Yanagizawa-Drott, D. H. (2023). (NBER Working Paper No. 31049). National Bureau of Economic Research. 

Misperceived Social Norms: Women Working Outside the Home in Saudi Arabia 

Bursztyn, L., González, A. L., & Yanagizawa-Drott, D. (2020). American Economic Review, 110(10), 2997–3029.