They Really Say That? Perceived Norms and Attitudes toward Women’s Empowerment in the MENA

In global comparison, female labor force participation, political representation, and de jure legal rights remain limited in the Middle East and North Africa (MENA). Misperceived norms may contribute to these gender disparities. Individuals may support initiatives to increase women’s political and economic participation or equality in the private sphere but may not act on these beliefs because they underestimate the extent to which others share them. Persistent misperceptions pose a substantial obstacle to advancing women’s political, economic, and legal rights. Our study investigates whether correcting misperceptions may contribute to changes in these outcomes. If so, for whom, on what issues, and through which types of communication are efforts to correct misperceptions especially impactful? To implement our study, we partner with a social entrepreneurship platform to conduct a series of online survey experiments in Jordan, Egypt and Morocco (n=7000) to test whether misperceptions can be corrected at scale.