social norms are driven by empirical expectations or normative expectations or both, thus helping arrive at causality (Bicchieri et al., 2014). **Table 1** summarizes the vignette scenarios used in the study.

**Table 1: Vignette to test if the respondent’s approval of Sarita taking up the job changes based on changing social expectations.**

||**Conservative Normative Expectations**|**Liberal Normative Expectations**|
|---|---|---|
|Conservative<br>Empirical<br>Expectation|**Few**women in Sarita’s community work<br>outside their homes for pay and **few**people in<br>her community believe that it is okay for<br>women to work outside their homes.|**Few**women in Sarita’s community work<br>outside their homes for pay, but**most**people<br>in her community believe that it is okay for<br>women to work outside their<br>homes.|
|Liberal<br>Empirical<br>Expectation|**Most**women in Sarita’s community work<br>outside their homes for pay, but **few**people in<br>her community believe that it is okay for<br>women to work outside their homes.|**Most**women in Sarita’s community work<br>outside their homes for pay and**most**people<br>in her community believe that it is okay for<br>women to work outside their homes.|

_Notes:_ (1) The situation presented is, “Sarita is a woman whom you don’t know. She lives in a village with her husband who works and with her in-laws. She has two children who go to school. She recently came across a good work opportunity. The workplace is not too far from her home.” (2) The question asked is, “Do you think that it is okay for Sarita to take up the job? (Yes/ No).” The strength of social norms may also vary based on the woman’s circumstances, including her own characteristics, type of job, and spouse’s employment status. The second set of vignettes explores a few of these circumstances to examine the context dependency of norms for women’s LFP and approval for women’s participation. Varying the personal, job, and spouse’s circumstances, the vignette asks respondents whether they approve of and if they think others approve of the woman’s decision to work. This context dependency is important to understand from a policy perspective, as relaxing norms in those specific circumstances can help to promote women’s labor force participation. **<u>Figure B.1, Annex B</u>** summarizes the circumstances that were explored in the study.

Lastly, the study identifies relevant reference groups for respondents across two major aspects of their lives: Decisions about important events such as education, marriage, etc. and decisions regarding the main outcome of interest – paid work outside the home ( **<u>Box C.2, Annex C</u>** includes examples of these questions).

# SECTION 2: DATA COLLECTION

The quantitative survey instrument was administered to 2,000 Nepali men and women between May 29 and June 24, 2023. While individual respondents were selected using an in-field random sampling method, a set of criteria and targets guided the selection of provinces and households to ensure sample diversity in terms views about social norms and women’s work. Earlier studies have shown regional and provincial differences in key labor market indicators as well as differences in views about norms based on ethnic groups and migration status of men (Kathmandu University and others, 2019; Paudel, 2019; Phadera, 2016). To capture this diversity, we selected 4 out of 7 provinces in the country as opposed to a nationally representative sample to ensure that each selected province has a relatively substantial sample size:<sup>15</sup>

> 15 While Karnali Province was not considered primarily owing to its remoteness, making it less accessible to enumerators, its economic activity is similar to that of rural areas in Sudurpashchim Province. Both Madhesh Province and Koshi Province have the highest migration rate as of 2020, however, since Madhesh Province has the highest female unemployment rate, it suited the sample better. Lumbini Province was not selected since it is closer to Madhesh Province and the national average in terms of female LFP, and closer to Sudurpashchim Province in terms of female

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