Social Networks and Gender Inequitable Attitudes among Men and Women in Rural Nepal

"...provides critical findings on the relationship between individuals' perceptions of others' attitudes and their own gender-related attitudes, aligning with social norms theory and emphasising the significance of perceptions in social behaviour."

Gender-inequitable attitudes are known factors associated with women's experience of intimate partner violence (IPV). For example, women who adhere to more traditional gender roles and have attitudes supporting masculine superiority are more likely to report IPV experiences across different contexts. The pattern of social networks within which an individual operates, and the norms held within these networks, influence people's attitudes and behaviours. This study aims to identify social network factors associated with gender-inequitable attitudes among men and women in Nepal. Nepal's society is structured around patriarchal principles, with a family system rooted in patrilocal and patrilineal traditions. The country has high rates of violence against women and gender inequality.

Data came from the baseline assessment (n = 1,994) for evaluating Change Starts at Home, a social and behaviour change communication (SBCC)-focused prevention intervention in rural Nepal that is detailed at Related Summaries, below. Linear regression models adjusted for participant demographics provided the associations between participants' gender-inequitable attitude scores (GIAS) and their social network characteristics.

In social network analysis (SNA), "nominating" refers to the process where participants in a study are asked to identify other individuals within the network that they have a specific relationship with, essentially pointing out who they consider connected to them, thus contributing to the mapping of the social network structure by providing data on connections between individuals. Another key term is an "alter", which is any individual within a network who is connected to the primary/focal person, called the "ego".

Consistent with previous research, the current study found that women have relatively more gender-inequitable attitudes than men. Results show that women who nominated their parents (beta = -1.29) or neighbours (beta = -1.18) had better GIAS, while those nominating their brother-in-law/sister-in-law (beta = 0.36) had worse GIAS. Women's nomination of parents and neighbours indicates they have connections outside their in-laws' family and, therefore, access to a broader, potentially more supportive, social environment. On the other hand, the nomination of in-laws suggests that these women are in some ways constrained socially to an environment that is biased more towards social control and expectations of compliance. These findings are evidence that women who are constrained to more restrictive social environments may have less gender-equitable attitudes - the possible result of the social conditioning taking place within their husbands' homes.

Women's GIAS was strongly associated with their alters' attitudes when the alter was within their household, had a closer relationship, or the alter was male.

Men with higher degree (meaning: more highly connected - beta = -0.27) and those who nominated their spouse (beta = -0.75) had better GIAS. Thus, a positive spousal relationship for men is associated with more gender-equitable attitudes. Men's GIAS was strongly associated with their alters' attitudes when the alter was not from the same household or if they had a weak tie. While strongly clustered social situations can reinforce strongly held norms and attitudes, weak ties are an opportunity for individuals to gain insights and ideas outside of a more limited, densely connected social structure. 

Together, these findings indicate that contrary to women, men's gender-related attitudes can be improved by designing interventions and messaging focused on their broader social networks.

In summary, this study finds that IPV prevention programmes must consider men's and women's network characteristics separately. Socially isolated women (women with connections within in-law's families) and less-connected men (men with a smaller network), tend to have less gender-equitable attitudes; therefore, interventions must identify and focus on such women and men. Interventions working to improve women's gender-equitable attitudes need to design strategies focused on households as a unit and include both men and women. On the other hand, interventions to improve men's gender-equitable attitudes need to focus on men's relationships outside their households.

In conclusion, to effectively promote gender equity in Nepal, programme implementers and policymakers should:
 

1. Focus on women's immediate social circles, especially within households, to foster more equitable gender attitudes.
2. Encourage men to expand their social networks beyond traditional household relationships to gain diverse perspectives.
3. Address perceptions of gender norms within social networks, recognising the powerful influence of perceived attitudes.

"By tailoring interventions to these specific social dynamics, programmes can more effectively shift gender norms and promote equity."