Baseline Ideological Selection Effect in Labor Uptake
RCTClinical Trial
Homogeneous labor intervention designs ignore how pre-existing gender attitudes dictate individual responsiveness to new job opportunities. Traditional normative views act as an initial psychological barrier that reduces job take-up regardless of financial incentives.
Picture this
Imagine an open door leading to a new room. People who already believe going into that room is acceptable will walk right through, while those who believe entering the room is forbidden will stay outside even if the door is held wide open.
What the evidence says
Women with less traditional baseline gender attitudes exhibited significantly higher job take-up rates across all work arrangements compared to women holding more traditional baseline gender views.
- Who was studied
- 1,670 adult women (average age 30, 93% married) across rural, peri-urban, and urban Kolkata, West Bengal, India.
- How
- Baseline survey assessing gender traditionalism indices correlated with job offer uptake across 5 randomized work treatment arms.
What to do
Incorporate baseline gender attitudinal screening when targeting economic recruitment campaigns to identify populations requiring additional norm-shifting support.
From the source
"Women who had less traditional gender attitudes at baseline were more likely to take up any job offer than women with more traditional views."
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