Mainstream analyses of low female labour force participation in MENA and South Asia emphasise restrictive social norms, focusing policies on changing behaviours rather than economic incentives. This paper argues that economic opportunities, not norms, drive change. Citing historical evidence, including Claudia Goldin’s US research, it shows how employment growth reshapes norms over time. It advocates prioritising labour market demand-side factors over costly norm-changing efforts, highlighting the gradual and varied evolution of gender norms globally.

About the Speaker

Dr. Ashwini Deshpande is a Professor and Head of Economics at Ashoka University and Academic Director of Centre for Economic Data and Analysis (CEDA). Her research focuses on discrimination and affirmative action, particularly caste and gender in India. She has published extensively, including Grammar of Caste and Affirmative Action in India. A Fellow of the International Economic Association, she has received the EXIM Bank Award (1994) now called (the IERA Award), VKRV Rao Award (2007), and SKOCH Award for Gender Economics (2022). She has also edited the Handbook on Economics of Discrimination and Affirmative Action.