**Table 10. A snapshot of the key findings**

**Association with women's decision to work outside the home for pay (Full sample)**

|**Beliefs and social expecta**|**tions**<br>|
|---|---|
|Female caregiver norm|↓* Personal beliefs<br>(-) Social normative expectations|
|Male breadwinner norm|_↓ if woman unable to keep up with household tasks_<br>↓** Personal beliefs<br>(-) Social normative expectations|
|Motherhood norm<br>|(-)<br>_↓ if childcare by non-family_|
|Working women norm|_↓ for job characteristics: travel outside village/city, physically demanding, hospitality_<br>_sector_|
|Norms on: Mobility<br>freedom, Honor, Safety,<br>Mixed-gender workplace.|(-)|
|**Rational determinants**|↓*** if other working-age women are present in HH<br>↓** with increase in HH income (less female income)<br>↑* with presence of adolescent girls<br>↑** with increase in education<br>(-) awareness of job-search methods|
|**Impact by sub-groups**|Increases for Madhesi women and for women with migrant spouses<br>(-) Presence of children <5, presence of in-laws, living in an urban area|

_Notes: (_ -) not significant; ↑ significant positive association; ↓ significant negative association (*** p<0.01, ** p<0.05, * p<0.1) _._ Text in _italics_ refers to personal beliefs and social expectations for norms under specific circumstances/contexts. Associations reported in this table indicate overall results, refer to Table 6 above and <u>Tables A.12, Annex A for details and results separately for male</u> and female samples. Each variable and its association with the outcome variable should be interpreted independently and in conjunction with messages highlighted in this section.

Given that personal beliefs and social expectations are generally not very restrictive among the study respondents, it is likely that a norm _tipping point_ has been reached when it comes to FLFP in Nepal, where a critical share of the community has eased up on enforcing a traditional norm- as suggested by low sanctionsor adopted new, more supportive norms towards FLFP. Bicchieri (2017) suggests that norm change gains momentum when about a third of the population abandons an old norm, encouraging moderately normsensitive people to reconsider their behavior, with the tipping point occurring once more than half the group deviates. In the case of Nepal, further research is required to unpack when and how norms have shifted over time, and what the enabling factors might have been. World Bank (2022) finds that in contrast to Nepal, progressive attitudes towards gender equality have either progressed slowly or even regressed over time for most South Asian countries, although women and higher educated people tend to have less restrictive attitudes.

While there is limited linkage between social norms and women’s work outcome for the average respondent, there appears to be some heterogeneity in this association, particularly by ethnicity (Madheshi vs. nonMadheshi) and migration status of the spouse. Heterogeneity in normative expectations across groups and geographies is important to note as social norms may be more influential for some, depending on the extent of restrictive views expected in their respective reference groups. This is also validated by the vignette analysis, which shows that in extreme hypothetical cases (where _most_ people are conservative in their beliefs or behaviors), social norms can be binding constraints to women’s FLFP decisions. This, however, seems unlikely in the context of Nepal given our findings.

29