By shedding light on underlying beliefs and expectations that uphold norms, including for specific sub- groups such as migrant households, findings from this paper can help inform the design of interventions to improve FLFP, as well as reduce the disparity in job quality between men and women. Better information on the type, strength, and specific circumstances under which norms bind women’s economic participation can inform policies and services to increase their access to the labor market.

The paper is structured as follows. Following a summary of the <u>country context, Section 1</u> describes the methodology used for measuring social norms. Section 2 discusses the sampling approach for data collection and its limitations. Section 3 highlights the demographic and socio-economic characteristics of the sample. <u>Section 4 details the empirical strategy employed to assess the role of social norms in determining women’s paid</u> work outcomes outside the home. <u>Section 5 presents the findings, starting with descriptive statistics on labor</u> market outcomes among sampled respondents, behaviors, personal beliefs, and social expectations towards thematic areas associated with women’s work, followed by a systematic exploration of whether and to what extent norms and personal beliefs do predict women’s paid work outcomes. This section also discusses the role of social norms when considering ‘rational’ factors, observables that may explain liberality (or conservativeness) of beliefs and social norms, and whether the influence of social norms on women’s paid work outcomes varies for certain groups or under specific circumstances. <u>Section 6 concludes.</u>

# NEPAL CONTEXT

Existing data on personal attitudes and beliefs around gender roles and women’s economic participation in Nepal shows a contrast between views and practices when it comes to women’s employment. On the surface, most Nepalis have a favorable outlook towards women’s jobs. Per a Survey of the Nepali People – a series of public opinion surveys of a nationally representative sample of Nepalis 18 years and older from all 7 provinces – over 90 percent of respondents disagree that women should not be encouraged to work outside their homes and a similar proportion also disagree that higher education is more important for a boy than for a girl child.<sup>7</sup> However, when asked about attitudes and practices that create an enabling environment for a woman to go out to work, the results are not so positive. Almost a quarter of ever- married women report that their husband is jealous or angry if they talk to other men. Similarly, a wife neglecting the children is reported by men and women as the most common circumstance justifying wife beating, followed by the wife going out without telling her husband.<sup>8</sup> Even though over 73 percent of the Nepalis believe that men have equal responsibility in raising children as their wives do,<sup>9</sup> girls and women disproportionately bear the burden of unpaid work in the household. Almost half of the girls (aged 5-17 years) are engaged in household chores as opposed to less than a fifth of the boys and almost all women are involved in caring for the family, irrespective of their labor market status.<sup>10</sup> Not surprisingly, “family and household responsibilities” is the most common reason stated by economically inactive Nepali women for not trying to find a job or to start a business, quitting the last job, or for working less than 40 hours a week ( **<u>Table A.1, Annex A</u>** ). While in the labor market, women are more likely to be unpaid family workers and less likely to be wage-employed, both formally and informally ( **<u>Table A.2, Annex A</u>** <u>). Moreover, women may face perceived societal biases that could contribute to their occupational</u>

> 7 A Survey of the Nepali People, 2020. A series of this public opinion survey is led by School of Arts, Kathmandu University (KUSOA), in collaboration with Interdisciplinary Analysts (IDA) and The Asia Foundation. 8 DHS, 2022.

> 9 A Survey of the Nepali People, 2018.

> 10 Nepal Labor Force Survey, 2017/18. More than 90 more percent of females (but less than half among males) are involved in at least one activity of producing services for own final use (activities include preparing meals, doing the dishes, cleaning the house, caring for elderly and children).

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