Intergenerational Differences in Attitudes Towards Women’s Empowerment in Indian Society

Abstract

It is widely assumed that younger Indians hold more egalitarian views about women than their parents and grandparents, and that generational replacement will therefore steadily transform gender norms. This article examines that assumption. It draws on theories of generations, cohort and period effects, intergenerational transmission and value change, and on recent national data. Behavioural indicators show clear generational change. The share of women aged 20–24 who married before 18 fell from 47.4 percent in 2005–06 to 23.3 percent in 2019–21. The share of women who use a bank account rose from 53.0 to 78.6 percent between 2015–16 and 2019–21. Attitudinal indicators show more limited change. Women’s acceptance of wife-beating for at least one reason fell from 52 to 45 percent between NFHS-4 and NFHS-5, but men’s rose from 42 to 44 percent. A Pew Research Center survey of nearly 30,000 adults found only small differences between age groups. Among adults aged 18–34, 42 percent said earning money should be mainly men’s responsibility, compared with 45 percent of those aged 35 and older. Nearly nine in ten Indians agreed that a wife must always obey her husband. The article argues that generational change in India is real but uneven. It is faster in behaviour shaped by education, law and economic opportunity than in core beliefs about family authority, and it is mediated by strong intergenerational transmission within families. The article discusses implications for policy, education and research.