Changing gender norms is a political process: Expect a power struggle

The phrase “the personal is political” is well-known  in feminist thought, particularly from its second wave in the 1960s and 1970s.  The phrase has been used in struggles and rights movements.

In the era of gender backlash and push-back today, a phrase that links the private with the social, the public and political is handier than ever before particularly with the renewed focus on gender and social norms transformation in academia, research and  development.

#GenderConversations understands that whereas gender and social norms transformation is crucial in driving change towards gender equality, it is also  complex.

“Changing gender norms requires changing institutions and power dynamics. This often happens through conflict and renegotiation of the power equilibrium. [It]…is a political process that leads to equality between women and men” notes the ALiGN platform

 To understand this dynamic, it is important to reflect on how gender norms change. As learned from ALiGN, while some gender norms are deeply rooted, others have shallow foundations, based on the immediate situation, and may be easily changed. Further, while some norms can shift easily, in some there is intense resistance.

 There are numerous factors that influence gender norms change in our societies today. These include economic development, urbanisation, education, technological advancement, social movements, political movements, gender awareness, changes in religious institutions, cultural advancements, media influences, family transitions, crisis such as war or epidemics and migration among others.  Enactment of gender progressive laws and policies has been instrumental in shifting gender norms implying that the role of government and the legislature is important in catalysing gender norms change.

 With advancements in education, primary school enrolment has achieved gender parity across many nations and there is more representation of women along men in secondary and higher education. These changes have shifted norms about preferring education of boys in some families and societies and accounts for more gender equal formal workplaces and public services in some countries – though it is still a long way to go.

Legislation especially affirmative action in higher education has transformed tertiary education to an extent that in hitherto exclusive universities, women are beginning to equal or outnumber men at graduations, a situation that was unheard of just a few decades ago.

 Enactment of national laws, advocacy, and changes in political party manifestos as well as adoption of progressive executive powers involving identifying and appointing talented women has shifted norms regarding electing and deploying women in political positions and leadership.

 Depending on context, development actors must choose effective pathways to norms change if required. It may require addressing underlying structural drivers of negative norms to attain results. In some contexts, undermining a negative norm and replacing it with a positive one could be the effective pathway. The new direction should be linked with aspirations of the people likely to be affected by the new processes. Above all, we need to always remember that norms shifting is a political process and hence building alliances and devising mitigation measures in case of backlash is critical.