On norms and agency
Subtitle: conversations about gender equality with women and men in 20 countries
By: Ana Maria Munoz Boudet, Patti Petesch, and Carolyn Turk with Angelica Thumala
Publisher: World Bank
Published: 2013
Language: eng
Number of pages: 207
ISBN-13: 9780821398623; 9780821398920
Subjects: Sex discrimination against women; Sex role; Women's rights
Description: "On Norms and Agency explores some of the power dynamics of gender relations within the household and communities in different contexts. These processes are analyzed from the perspectives of groups of men and women and boys and girls who participated in focus groups in 97 communities around the world. From gender differences and inequalities to intra-household decision making, more than 4,000 women and men in 500-plus single-sex focus groups reflected on how social norms that define what it means to be and act as a woman or a man affect their life outcomes and their access to opportunities. The analysis reveals not only how little gender norms have changed and how similar they are across countries, but also how change in norms and in individual empowerment and capacity to act and decide takes place. Change takes place at private as well as community and society levels --

and adjustments within one of these realms shape the pace and direction of change in the other. The process of gender-norm change appears to be uneven and challenging. The easy coexistence of new and old norms means that households in the same community can vary markedly in how much agency women can exercise; women feel less empowered when opinions and values of families and communities stay within traditional norms. This book seeks to understand the pathways toward greater gender equality by looking at the deepest constraints present for women and men alike. Unlike men, women are less dependent on the economic conditions of their environment. Men's power and agency are tightly intertwined with their identity and capacity as breadwinners. The main pathways for women to gain agency are education, employment, and decreased risk of domestic violence. A safer space encourages women to negotiate for more participation and equality in household discussions and decisions.

Women's ability to contribute to family finances and to control (even partially) major or minor assets helps them gain more voice at home and in public spheres. Women s aspirations and empowerment to break gender barriers can be observed almost everywhere, even when economies are stagnant. These evident aspirations are partly due to women's perceptions of having more power and freedom in their lives and a greater ability to make decisions. Yet many women around the world, the study shows, still face norms and practices that limit them."--Publisher's website.
Notes: Includes bibliographical references.
Table of contents: title: Foreword / RACHEL KYTE; title: Foreword / JUDITH RODIN; title: Acknowledgments; title: About the authors; title: Introduction: the norms of power and the power of norms; title: The study approach; title: Methodology of the study; title: Discussing and researching gender equality : a brief introduction to the primary study concepts; title: Creating and enforcing gender through norms, roles and beliefs; title: Changing norms; title: Overview of chapters; title: References; title: Gender norms; title: The rules we live by : gender norms and ideal images; title: Normative frameworks for household gender inequalities; title: The good girl, the good boy; title: Community-level views of gender norms; title: References; title: Negotiating the norms that bind : a winding road; title: The quiet relaxing and changing of norms; title: Timing is all: negotiating opportunities and gender-specific responsibilities; title: Intergenerational transmission of the possibility of change; title: Gender norms in transition; title: "A woman should be beaten if she deserves punishment"; title: A. extent and forms of domestic violence; title: B. causes and consequences of domestic violence; title: References; title: Having and making choices; title: Strategic life decisions : who has the final say?; title: Investing in education : why should girls and boys go to school?; title: Why should I leave school? : not my choice!; title: From school to work : getting the first job; title: A. You say, I say: the weight of adult voices on job decisions; title: "First comes love, then comes marriage, then comes baby in a baby carriage"; title: What is mine is yours : asset control and decision-making; title: When does choice mean agency?; title: References; title: Empowerment; title: What drives agency? : what crushes it?; title: Step by step : climbing the "ladder of power and freedom"; title: Perceptions of factors shaping agency; title: Combinations of mobility factors; title: Men's and women's interdependent agency and gender norm change; title: References; title: Structures of opportunity and structures of constraint; title: Community factors that fuel agency; title: Whose jobs?; title: It takes a village : local economic dynamism and empowerment; title: Impact of laws and local civic action on empowermen; title: Change women need; title: References; title: Final thoughts; title: Appendix a methodological note; title: References.