Theories of development assume or predict social and economic progress as education becomes common - “the norm” - in a society or within communities. In reality, numerous structural barriers can stymie transmission of benefits of education – within the same generation and across generations. These may be formal – such as access to credit, access to appropriate and safe opportunities; and informal – such as social norms, that prevent women and men from achieving their full potential. Global evidence regarding factors that shape educational access and trajectories for young women and men points to the considerable influence of social norms on collective and individual behaviors and decisions across different domains (Bicchieri, 2006).

In this piece, we consider the case of Pakistan and explore how norms have changed over generations, the ways in which gendered social norms impede processes of social progress and socio-economic development, and whether individual and community level investments in education are associated with positive shifts. We summarise emerging findings from a two-year qualitative study of gendered social norms in four urban communities in Punjab and Sindh where sustained investments in education have been made. Based on interviews with more than a hundred - young men and women - we trace intergenerational changes in norms related to work, education, and marriage in these communities.

We find a new generation of norms with regards to education for girls and boys, in communities where sustained investments in education service provision have been made. Demand for girls’ education is high and the norm is that girls are sent to school and progress to higher education. In these communities the debates around girls’ education are no longer regarding whether they should or should be sent to school, rather around how long they must stay in school, whether they can attend colleges in a different city and what type of subjects they should pursue. Fathers, who are more likely to have attained education themselves, emerge as important champions for girls’ education. We also find that girls are staying in school longer, which is delaying the marriage age. We also find that it’s not just marriage that can stop or change a girl’s education trajectory, rather the announcement of an engagement or the intent to marry has a similar impact.

In these patriarchal communities, investments in education service delivery combined with expressions of parental aspirations for their girls have shifted norms around girls’ education. On the other hand, economic factors and lack of opportunities (perceived and actual) appear to be responsible for negative trends in boys’ education. While the high demand for boys’ education remains a norm, an increasing number of boys are discontinuing their education in favour of starting paid work early. Often these are low-skilled jobs such as retail and delivery. The decisions for boys are being driven by economic distress, health shocks and poverty in recent years. In their calculus, investment of time and money in more years of education does not offer them significantly different results than opting out of college and starting low-paid work. The local market structure and shortage of employment opportunities more broadly are driving this new norm in boys’ education.

Norms around women working are also shifting, albeit the shift is smaller than that for girls’ education. While attitudes towards women working remain mostly conservative, more and more women are reporting either working themselves or knowing others who are working. The majority of women that complete higher education are teaching in schools. Those that drop out are more likely to do informal work such as tailoring from home. Men and women graduates interviewed expressed views in support of women working. That said, it was also widely expressed – particularly by men – that a woman’s primary responsibility is to look after the home, and that does/should not diminish even if the woman decides to work. So, while there is support for women to work among the younger generation, women face a double burden: running the home and caring for family, and their job.

Another aspect of norms around women working is the notion of appropriate and inappropriate careers. Banking, call centres and any other jobs that require women to work alongside men, travel far from home and/or have unusual hours are considered inappropriate. We did note however, that more and more young women, recent graduates, were expressing aspirations for many kinds of work, including working in the police and the army. Teaching is perceived to be the most appropriate career/job choice for women, and it also happens to be the most likely job choice for those who are working. In our view, this is an outcome of the high demand for female teachers by local education service providers, which has effectively changed the structure of the local market in such a way that young, educated women can now find jobs close to home.

We also find that women are saving and those who have salaried jobs are more likely to have bank accounts. In our exploration of the beliefs and attitudes about women saving, we find that it to be the norm that women should save and often do save. Our sense is that women have always been saving, sometimes through informal means and now increasingly through access to their own bank accounts. Women with salaried jobs are more likely to have bank accounts where their salaries are deposited.

A woman’s decision to work is still very much a negotiated outcome rather than entirely her own. For unmarried girls, the parents have final say. For engaged or married women, the in-laws become the gatekeepers. We noted an emergent trend for the couple themselves to make a call on this decision. Furthermore, in women’s own words, the decision to work appears to be driven by economic conditions and the need to have two incomes.

Processes of social and economic progress are complex and require a number of shifts in more intangible factors alongside substantive investments in foundational services such as education for individuals to realise their full potential. Our study identifies the ways in which social norms are shifting as individual and community level investments in education increase and the social and economic structures that govern the lives of young men and women change in Pakistan. Emerging findings suggest a responsiveness of norms to “changing times”, and the significance of gendered role models and enabling environments for individuals to achieve their goals.

Rabea Malik is Research Fellow at the Institute of Development and Economic Alternatives (IDEAS).

Tayyaba Tamim is Dean of the School of Education at LUMS.

The study is being undertaken in partnership with The Citizen’s Foundation and is funded by the Gates Foundation and continues till 2025.

Notes

Bicchieri, C. (2006). The grammar of society: The nature and dynamics of social norms. Cambridge University Press.