Normalising gender equality: Changing gender norms to increase gender equality

Despite much progress over the past decades, large gender inequalities persist. In this article, I argue that we need a better understanding of social norms to understand persisting gender inequalities and to achieve further gender equality. Many social norms are gender norms: informal rules that specify what is acceptable and what is not in a group basedupongendered distinctions (e.g. female vs male). I discuss different mechanisms through which existing norms can change: the provision of information to correct misperceptions, legal reforms and policy changes, and norm transgression. I illustrate how changing norms could increase gender equality by discussing examples related to important gender norms around paid labour, caregiving, and parenthood.