ESRC Postdoctoral Fellowship 2025

Transforming unjust gender norms shaping disparities in work and care responsibilities has become a priority in international development policy and practice. As global institutions are working to address these norms and establish comparable indices to track them, my research seeks a better understanding of what gender norms are, how they evolve, why some resist change, and how best to capture these dynamics. The study explores how norms change happens in a rapidly urbanising yet highly unequal Latin American city and what this has meant for men and women in marginalised neighbourhoods. Specifically, I investigate changes and continuities in norms governing the household division of paid economic activity and unpaid domestic and care work in Medelli´n, Colombia, where more women have joined the labour force yet continue to take on a disproportionate share of unpaid work at home.
Drawing on sixteen months of fieldwork, putting different methods in conversation and embedding them with long-term community engagement, the project allows for a critical appraisal of dominant methods to research social norms and their underlying assumptions. I integrated World Values Survey (WVS) variables, one of the most common datasets to study gender norms, into a household survey and qualitative interviews to offer mixed-methods evidence of how norms change occurs at multiple levels – at the personal level, in families, communities, and broader social institutions.
The analysis brings into focus several limitations in using the WVS, influenced by theories of linear development towards gender equality. It demonstrates how Medelli´n’s urban transformation has had mixed effects on gender norms, resulting in greater diversity and more varied alternatives. The research emphasises the potential of individuals and marginalised groups to transform gender norms while also recognising the constraints these norms impose on their actions and strategies for change. It also sheds light on men’s changing roles, which are critically omitted in norms studies and global measures. In Colombia, because of the cultural significance of the family, negotiations between generations emerge as a key pathway through which norms change or are reproduced, pointing to conditions of violence and informality that need to be addressed in policies.
One of the aims for the fellowship is to publish three journal articles to improve understanding of multidimensional change in gender relations at the urban margins. The proposed publications shed light on overlooked gender and collective dimensions of the “Medellin Model” and how violence and insecurity affects caregiving experiences and coping strategies. They contribute to a richer vocabulary to talk about change and reframe behavioural theories and research tools based on the WVS to study gender norms and their relation to socio-economic development.
The proposed project combines innovative research methods, in-depth empirical insights, and practical learning. It will translate research findings into a portfolio of policy and guidance materials that offer recommendations for development programmes and for designing new indicators to capture the multifaceted nature of social norms change to foster equality and resilience. To ensure broad uptake, I will disseminate these findings at international conferences, a workshop at LSE, a seminar in Bogota´ and through Lunch & Learn presentations with leading development organisations. Activities will mobilise various actors, including academic colleagues in London and at Universidad de la Salle in Bogota, Colombia, researchers in development institutions, NGOs and activists working towards a more socially just world.