Changing Gender Attitudes Among Indian Youth: Psychological Predictors of Support for Women’s Empowerment

Abstract

India has one of the largest youth populations in the world, with about 371 million people aged 15–29 in 2021, accounting for 27.2 percent of the population. The gender attitudes of this generation will shape women’s opportunities for decades to come. This article examines the psychological predictors of young Indians’ support for women’s empowerment. It draws on theories of gender ideology, social learning, gender schemas, ambivalent sexism, social dominance orientation, intergroup contact and social norms, together with recent Indian survey and experimental evidence. Survey data show that patriarchal attitudes remain widespread among youth. In a national survey of 6,122 young people aged 15–34 across 19 states, 51 percent agreed fully or partly that a wife should always obey her husband. Only 33 percent fully accepted married women working outside the home. On a composite index, 53 percent were classified as somewhat or very patriarchal. The same data reveal strong predictors. The share holding patriarchal views fell from 77 percent among non-literate youth to 41 percent among those with higher education. It was 57 percent among young men compared with 40 percent among young women, and 59 percent in villages compared with 37 percent in big cities. Among young men, it was 63 percent for those without a close female friend and 46 percent for those with one. Experimental evidence from a school programme in Haryana shows that adolescents’ gender attitudes can be shifted by about 0.18 standard deviations, with lasting effects on behaviour. The article discusses implications for education, parenting, media and policy.