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Gender Socialization during Adolescence in Low and Middle Income Countries: Why
Should We Care?
Neetu A. John, Jeffrey Edmeades
International Center for Research on Women

INTRODUCTION
Gender inequality continues to be a feature of most societies, with harmful consequences
for girls, boys, men and women. Globally, adolescent girls are less likely to be educated,
more likely to be married and have children while still children themselves, and are more
susceptible to poor health, including HIV/AIDS (UNICEF, 2014, UNAIDS, 2014, UNESCO,
2015). In the meantime, young men are more likely to die in violent conflict and automobile
accidents and to engage in substance abuse (Kato-Wallace et al, 2016). In both cases, norms
around what constitutes gender appropriate behaviour play a major role in shaping these
outcomes. In this paper we define and examine the process of gender socialization and
argued for its importance in addressing gender inequalities. We focus on gender
socialization during adolescence because adolescents can critically address the roles and
expectations they have already begun to learn, and can benefit from learning new roles and
expectations as they transition into adulthood. Moreover, adolescence is often viewed as a
“second window” of opportunity for the promotion of positive health behaviours and
overall well-being, with long-term implications for behaviour, both for themselves and their
children.

We situate the gender socialization process during adolescence in the broader context
where it occurs, and introduce a conceptual framework (Figure 1) that brings together the
main factors that influence the process, as well as pointes out the gendered outcomes that
result from it. We then apply this conceptual framework towards designing effective
programmes and policies that may ultimately serve to improve outcomes for adolescents in
low and middle income (LAMI) countries, reviewing existing approaches and discussing
large social and economic forces that may drive change in socialization content and process.
We focused on adolescents from LAMI countries because the majority of the world’s
adolescents live in these countries and, while their numbers are predicted to rapidly
increase in the coming years, there remains very little information about their lives and the
interventions that serve them, especially in terms of the way they acquire and internalize

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gender norms. Adolescents are especially responsive to normative influences prevalent in

their social environment, due the biological changes, expansion of social networks and the
importance placed on gaining social acceptance during this life phase.

A FRAMEWORK OF INFLUENCES ON GENDER SOCIALIZATION IN ADOLESCENCE

Drawing on a multi-disciplinary literature review from the fields of psychology, sociology

and biology, we define gender socialization as a process by which individuals develop, refine
and learn to ‘do’ gender through internalizing gender norms and roles as they interact with
key agents of socialization, such as their family, social networks and other social institutions.
While the interaction between the individual being ‘socialized’ and the agents of
socialization is the key component of the gender socialization process, this does not occur in
isolation. Broader structural forces such as prevailing socio-economic conditions, political
institutions and patriarchal institutions and practices play very critical role in shaping the
nature of these interactions. Conceptualizing gender socialization, therefore, requires an
understanding of the interaction between the individual and his/her micro and macro
environment. This ‘environment’ is context-dependent and dynamic. Figure 1 describes a
framework that accounts for the multi-level and dynamic nature of the gender socialization
process, with a focus on the individual, interactional and structural levels of influence
during the adolescent period, and the gendered outcomes that may be associated with this
process at each level. This multi-level framework describes the ways in which the gender

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socialization process produces and reproduces gender norms, gender roles and gender
identities. The framework also enables a discussion on the potential gendered outcomes
that may result due to the gender socialization process, which we draw on to begin thinking
about effective policies and programmes that could be designed to reduce gender based
inequalities for adolescents.

In this framework (see figure 1), the structural level refers to the broader societal values
and practises, political structures, socio-economic conditions, and global media and
information sources that exert influence at the broader, societal, level. The structural level
factors determine the gendered distribution of resources and how relative status and power
impact an individual’s personal circumstances and life chances as well as impose
constraints on their behaviour. While multiple factors interact and influence each other and
the gender socialization process, entrenched gender and patriarchal structures and the
prevailing social and economic conditions in a given society often most closely relate and
impact the nature of the gender socialization process. Demonstrating this connection at the
macro-level, we find that typically, though not always, human development and gender
equality measures are positively correlated at the country level (Hausmann, 2014). As a
result, shifts in these conditions, and the resultant changes in opportunity structures and
gendered division of labour, have a strong influence on micro-level processes that influence
the gender socialization process, including in the critical interaction between parents and
children. For example, cross-cultural research from across the globe indicates a high
correlation between gender-based division of labour at the macro level and child-rearing
strategies adopted by parents and families at the micro level, with increased female labour
force participation correlating with gains for girls in particular (e.g. Hewlett, 1992; Weisner
, 1979).

The social-interactional level constitutes the microenvironments where individuals live

their daily lives and learn the gender norms, practices and appropriate gender roles of their
community through everyday interactions with the agents of gender socialization. The key
agents of socialization during adolescence include the family and parents; social institutions
such as schools and religious organizations; social networks such as the peer group; media
and community/neighbourhood. Besides opportunities for practising behaviours and
gaining knowledge on prevailing gender norms, these everyday interactions also familiarize
individuals with the incentives and disincentives linked to specific behaviours in their social

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environment. As these behaviours are repeated in everyday interactions, individuals learn

the gender differences in expectations, values, preferences and skills, and accordingly adapt
their behaviours to match these. Ultimately, these also play a large role in forming gender
identities that are in accordance with the prevailing gender norms in their social
environment, a critical step in the perpetuation of particular norms.

At the individual level individuals’ reception of information and cues from the
environment about gendered behaviours, their internalization of gender norms and
formation of their gender identity varies based on their unique circumstances as well as
factors such as cognitive and motivational processes, physical and sexual maturation, other
life course stage characteristics, and personality. These factors together determine how the
individual will internalize prevailing gender norms and develop her or his gender identity.
Through interactions and observations of others’ behaviours, girls and boys go through a
process of self-socialization and start making inferences about the meaning and
consequences of gender-based behaviours. Through this process, and as they mature,
adolescents internalize prevalent notions of masculinity and femininity, and start self-
enforcing these gendered notions. They become more receptive to information they view as
more relevant to their gender identity and start seeking gendered environments that
further reinforce their self-imposed gender identity, beliefs and behaviours. As their social
identity becomes more crystalized, they become sensitive to how others view them. Over
time, through this process, boy and girls’ behaviours come to be regulated by internal
standards, values and perceived consequences (Bussey & Bandura, 1999).

Ultimately, the interplay of complex processes at the socialinteractional and the individual
levels, strongly influenced by the structural level factors, produce and reproduce gender
norms and gendered identities at the societal and individual levels. Adolescents typically
face very strong pressure to conform to prevailing masculine and feminine identities, which
are often constructed in contrast to each other. For example, in many contexts, notions of
manhood are tied to heterosexual behaviour where sex is viewed as a key means of
demonstrating power, prestige and affirming male identity and status among peers, while
femininity, on the other hand, is linked to qualities such as being chaste and naïve about
sexual matters (Ricardo, Barker, Pulerwitz, Rocha 2006). These gendered identities render
women and girls talking about sex, contraceptive methods or acknowledging sexual

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experience ’unfeminine.’ Men, on the other hand, are encouraged to brag about their sexual
exploits and as a consequence feel pressured to have heterosexual sexual experiences for
peer acceptance. In the end, these processes and resulting identities reinforce existing
gender norms and inequalities, potentially promoting the sexual objectification of girls and
women, male dominance and inequitable heterosexual relationships and decision-making,
sexual control, and dominance, and intimate partner violence.

CHANGES IN GENDER NORMS AND THE GENDER SOCIALIZATION PROCESS

Despite the efficient and complex ways gender socialization is reproduced in everyday
interactions, it is not immutable. The process of change inevitably involves each of the levels
described in the conceptual framework described in Figure 1. For example, individual
deviations from norms and expectations can impact community and society and produce
new norms and identities and new laws and policies can eventually impact practices and
beliefs by incentivizing broader changes in behavior and expectations via regulatory
change; and changes at the structural level, such as changes in economic or social
structures, may fundamentally shift the foundations underlying particular behaviors or
norms, including who the key actors are in the socialization process.

We examined how these changes can take place, focusing both on the gender norms that are
being imparted by the socialization process and the nature of the process itself, and build on
these to develop recommendations for programming and policy. We discuss how
programmers have attempted to change gender norms at the individual and social-
interactional level, and then proceed to the structural level, and examine how broader
socio-economic forces may generate change.

Results from a Rapid Review of Gender Socialization Interventions Targeting Youth in

Low and Middle Income Countries

Change at the Individual and Social Interactional levels

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A review of the literature on evaluated interventions that sought to change the gender
socialization process in ways that promote greater equity (conducted by the authors), found
that these utilized three distinct strategies, often in combination with each other:
Empowering youth with information, skills and social support. Interventions using this
strategy typically focused directly on youth, working to empower them by challenging
established gender norms through training on gender as a concept and social construct,
building specific skills, developing supportive social networks, and creating safe spaces
within which to explore alternative gender behaviours. These programmes seek to provide
youth with knowledge about gender and gender equality while simultaneously building
skills that will be useful to them both in advocating for more gender equitable norms and
behaviours and enriching their lives in other ways. With this in mind, interventions
following this strategy have typically utilized a combination of three programmatic
approaches:
1. Group-based gender-education activities in ‘safe-spaces’ where the gender
socialization process is interrogated and alternative norms are explored
2. Life skills training enabling youth to effectively explore and communicate new
approaches and gender attitudes, including financial and communication skills
3. Sexual and reproductive health training integrating normative change, focusing on
power within relationships

Fostering an enabling environment in which to challenge gender norms. These

approaches begin with the understanding that youth, and particularly girls, have relatively
low levels of power in their families and communities and that their ability to challenge
existing norms is at least partly shaped by the degree to which their environment is able to
accommodate alternative behaviours and attitudes. Interventions following this strategy
have typically used some or all of the following approaches to build support for youth in
exploring alternatives to standard norms:
1. Working directly with spouses, parents and community members to generate
support for challenges to existing normative frameworks
2. Community or group-based education sessions where key actors in the socialization
process gather to interrogate gender norms at a broader level
3. Information, education, communication (IEC) campaigns designed to raise
awareness of gender issues, model different behaviour, and stimulate discussion

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Working with men and boys to challenge norms of masculinity and femininity. While
most programmes working on gender norms focus predominantly on girls and young
women, engaging men and boys is an important component of a number of programmes.
This is both because of their role as influential community members, but also because
gender norms define male as well as female behaviour, often with damaging consequences.
These programmes have typically utilized the following programmatic approaches:
1. Group-based programming introducing concepts of gender norms, the role of
masculinity in shaping behaviour, and the consequences of this for both themselves
and the women and girls in their lives
2. Gender-synchronized approaches that explicitly address the relational aspects of
gender through working both with men/boys and women/girls in a coordinated
way
3. Community engagement through communal events or male ‘gatekeepers’. This is
similar to the community outreach approaches used by other strategies, but focused
specifically on the role that men and boys can play in enabling gender equality

There is mixed evidence for the effect of these programmes on gender norms. While most of
the programmes reviewed resulted in significant changes in attitudes, changes in behaviour
were generally smaller. Furthermore, it is unclear what the longer term effects were,
particularly in the face of the larger structural factors influencing gender socialization.

Change at the Structural level

While many structural factors impede gender equality, there are a number of structural
changes that interventions at the individual or social interactional level may be able to take
advantage of to enhance their effectiveness and longer term sustainability. We examined
three of these that have proven both particularly influential and that present particular
opportunities for the development of policies and programmes enhancing gender equality.
These are: economic change, global media and the globalization of norms, and demographic
change.

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Economic change has proven to be a particularly powerful driver of change, both

historically and contemporaneously, though the empirical evidence for its influence on
gender equity is mixed (Duflo 2012; Kabeer 2105). In terms of norms, changes in the
structure of economies as a result of greater global interconnectedness in social and
economic terms and the industrialization that accompanies this may challenge gender
norms through changing the incentive structures around women’s formal paid employment,
increasing the ‘payoff’ for formal education, and through encouraging migration, both
internal and international. As a result, women and, to a lesser extent, men’s economic roles
within communities and families have changed while the influence of families and
communities has diminished as individuals are increasingly exposed to different normative
contexts, particularly in urban areas where norms are often less traditional.

Global media and the globalization of norms have also played an important role in
challenging existing norms around gender and reframing these, often in ways that
encourage greater equality. Adolescents throughout the world today are exposed to
information from a variety of sources, including Western or Western-influenced media that
portray gender roles and norms in more egalitarian ways. As a result, media itself can
become a socializing agent, providing the social ‘space’ within which to explore and discuss
alternative normative frameworks and behaviours, both for boys and girls.

Demographic change, while related to these other structural factors in a number of ways,
also has the potential to be a driver of gender norms, primarily through two broad
mechanisms: migration and reduced fertility through increased control over reproduction.
As discussed above, migration influences the gender socialization process both by reducing
the influence of family and community on behaviour and through exposing individuals to
different normative environments. As greater proportions of adolescents experience
migration as a part of their lives, both of these factors are likely to become increasingly
important in shaping changes in gender norms. Changes in reproductive behaviour also
play an important role and may influence the gender socialization process in a number of
ways, particularly in terms of reducing the number of children women have. Greater
reproductive control allows women’s lives to be less defined by reproduction and more so
by other factors, such as participation in the formal labour force or continuing education,
both of which challenge normative expectations in multiple ways.

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These examples provide strong support for the feasibility of deliberate action to change
social norms, though also suggest a number of ways in which policy-makers and
programmers may be able to take advantage of structural changes to enhance the effect of
their efforts to promote greater gender equity. In particular, it is critical that policy-makers
establish a legal and policy environment that complements the structural changes
described above. For example, policies that facilitate women’s inclusion in the formal paid
labour force (and protect their rights once employed) or encourage schooling will have
particular resonance and utility in an economic environment that is shifting towards
employment outside of the household. When developing policies and programmes,
programmers and policy-makers should be aware of the role of the life course and social
change in shaping the socialization process, particularly in terms of who the key socializing
agents are at specific points in time. Individuals will be more responsive to different types
of interventions at different stages of the life course and specific interventions will be more
likely to be successful if they are seen as relevant to addressing the uncertainty of new
economic or social environments. Finally, the evidence suggests that developing and
situating gender transformative programming within the context of structural changes is
particularly important. Adopting a positive, solution-oriented approach to describing
programming and tailoring it to meet the specific needs of individuals, families and
communities in a context of social and economic change will both assist with acceptance of
the intervention and enhance its effect over the short and long term.

Conclusions

This paper summarizes a large body of theoretical and applied work exploring the gender
socialization process to define and develop a conceptual framework that explains the multi-
layered and complex process of gender socialization along with gendered outcomes
associated with different levels among adolescents in LAMI countries. Understanding this
process and how factors at the structural, social-interactional and individual level are inter-
linked is critical for developing better approaches to promoting equality while also meeting
the basic needs of girls, boys, men and women in LAMI countries. This generation of young
people will play a lead role in the progress made towards key development targets
(including the Sustainable Development Goals) over the following decades and shape future

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generations in fundamental ways, making them a critical population for these types of
interventions.

The framework also helps situate efforts designed to promote greater gender inequality and
where their influence is most likely to be experienced. While the evidence suggests that
current programmatic and policy efforts can change gender attitudes and influence norms
espoused by adolescents and the communities in which they live in the short term, it is clear
that for sustained change factors at the individual, social interactional and structural levels
will have to be manipulated or leveraged simultaneously. Approaches that target the
adolescent in isolation and fail to adequately consider the agents of socialization or account
for factors such as life course factors, changes in economic structures, and the increasingly
globalized world will be less effective than those that do, placing the onus on programmers
and policy-makers both to carefully position their efforts within this bigger picture and to
more effectively coordinate their interventions in ways that complement each other.

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