Slow but Not Steady? Transitioning of Gender Norms and Agency through Community-Based Empowerment Interventions for Adolescent Girls in India

Neelanjana Pandey, PopulationCouncil Consulting
Basant Kumar Panda, Population Council Consulting
Snigdha Banerjee, International Institute for Population Sciences (IIPS)

This study evaluates the impact of community-based empowerment interventions on gender norms and agency among adolescent girls in Jharkhand, India. Despite recent declines in child marriage, persistent social norms and limited opportunities continue to challenge progress. Using Propensity Score Matching (PSM), the evaluation assessed the effects of Girls First Fund-supported programs on girls' gender attitudes, self-efficacy, and decision-making autonomy. Data from 1,989 girls in Hazaribagh, collected at baseline and endline, reveal significant findings. Participants exhibited enhanced egalitarian gender role attitudes, with the mean gender role attitude index increasing from 7.5 in the control group to 8.3 in the treated group (difference 0.73, p < 0.01). Self-efficacy also improved by 0.30 points (p < 0.01), indicating greater confidence and problem-solving skills. Autonomy in life decisions increased by 11 percentage points (p < 0.01). These results demonstrate that community-led, gender-transformative interventions effectively promote egalitarian attitudes and empower girls to delay marriage and pursue education. However, the incremental nature of some changes suggests that entrenched norms require ongoing, multifaceted strategies. The study highlights the importance of community engagement and recommends further research to assess scalability and long-term impacts on gender norms.

Keywords: Mixed methods research, Children, Adolescents, and Youth, Gender Dynamics

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