“Do you agree with the statement, “Men are better suited than women to work outside the home”?”

Seema asked parents in India this question as part of a research study to understand how a school-based program designed to change attitudes about gender roles could help reduce gender bias in Haryana, India.

According to recent World Bank estimates, only 27 percent of women in India currently participate in the labor force—a steep ten percentage point decrease from 2005 rates. This large decrease is notable because, according to analysis by J-PAL affiliate Rohini Pande (Harvard) and Charity Troyer Moore, about one-third of women who work primarily in housework would like to have a job but seem to be prevented by traditional gender norms that restrict women’s mobility. Read More

In social science, as in other disciplines, a pattern of publication bias has emerged: Studies that show positive results are often more likely to get published. This is a problem because policymakers use results from randomized impact evaluations, also known as randomized controlled trials (RCTs), to inform their decisions. 

It's therefore possible that a published study found a social policy or program to be effective, but several other unpublished... Read More