Gender Attitudes in adolescence: evaluating the Girl Rising gender-sensitization program in India

• The GR program significantly influenced participant’s gender attitudes. 

  • There was an increase in participants disagreeing with forced arranged marriages, from 70.9% to 79.3%, and in supporting the girl’s right to voice her disagreements, from 64.3% to 72.6%.
  • There was a significant increase in mean scores for gender attitudes, from 64.3% to 72.6%, indicating a positive shift towards more equitable views. 
• Participants demonstrated a significant shift in their understanding of gender norms, particularly in the context of education.
  • There was a significant increase in disagreement about unequal treatment of genders in education, from 52.9% at baseline to 61.7% at follow-up, in the context of the third vignette, which asked participants their opinions ron a family’s decision to send their son to university instead of their daughter.  
  • However, participants who supported the unequal decision were rooted in traditional gender roles, believing that sons would become providers, and education would allow them to support his family better. 
• Participants felt more in control of their own lives and outcomes, a crucial aspect of empowerment. 
  • Participants demonstrated a significant increase in their locus of control, from 6.43 at baseline to 6.83 at follow-up.  
• The program was generally well-received, with nearly 95% of the participants wishing to participate in a similar program. 
• The program appeared to have a stronger influence on girls than boys, with girls reporting higher rates of thinking about their future goals and motivating them to address girls’ issues.  

Findings indicate the power of gender-sensitization programs and suggest programs can address gender inequality by influencing gender beliefs for both young boys and girls and inspiring community-led action. Since gender norms formalize in adolescents, this study suggests targeting youth is an effective means of building “a new generation of self-aware, gender-conscious youth” (pg. 138).   

The study employed a quasi-experimental design to assess its impact. The primary focus was on adolescents from 6th to 9th grade, with the evaluation conducted before (baseline) and after (follow-up) the program’s implementation across 20 schools in two Indian states, yielding a total sample of 2,894 adolescents (1,372 boys and girls at baseline, and 1,522 boys and girls at follow-up). The schools included in the evaluation were located in rural communities in Punjab and Rajasthan. 

Data was gathered using a 68-item questionnaire at baseline and a 96-item questionnaire at follow-up. The instruments included sociodemographic questions, three vignettes to examine gender attitudes and perceptions of gender norms, and a gender equality scale.  

Several key concepts were evaluated to understand the impact of the GR program, including: 

• Gender Equitable Attitudes: evaluated via the first two vignettes and an 18-statement scale. The scale involved 18 statements which were divided into three sub-domains: Gender Roles/Privileges/Restrictions, Gender Attributes, and Gender Violence. This scale generated a ‘gender equitable attitude’ score, ranging from 0-18, with higher scores indicating more positive attitudes towards gender equality.
• Perceptions of Gender Norms: assessed through a third vignette that presented a situation in which a boy and a girl, despite being equally qualified, were faced with the parents’ decision to send only the son to college.
• The ‘Locus of Control’: evaluated on an 11-item Likert scale to understand the degree to which people believe they have control over the outcome of events in their lives, as opposed to external forces having control. If a person has an internal locus of control, they are more likely to partake in behaviors and relationships that will provide positive and successful outcomes. 
• Perceptions of the Program: assessed through a series of questions during the follow-up survey, including whether the program helped them consider their future goals, how to support girls in their community, and if they shared the program information with others.