ALIGN and guest blog posts and interviews

Read our series of blog posts from the ALIGN team and guest writers that discuss and highlight work aiming to challenge and change gender norms across the world. You can also find interviews with experts conducted by the ALIGN team. The ALIGN blog captures diverse and topical opinions on gender norms change from across our Community of Practice (please note, views expressed are not necessarily the same as those of ALIGN). If you'd like to write a blog post, please contact us.

You may also be interested in ALIGN's case studies on gender norms.

Blog

1 June 2021

A young rural Ugandan woman prepares garden soil for planting vegetables. © Cheryl Ramalho / Shutterstock

Challenging gender norms in Uganda: How agricultural programmes can inspire women to thrive

Author: Carmen Leon-Himmelstine

Published by: ALIGN

Interview

3 March 2021

A girl with a hearing aid amongst peers at a school in Chennai, India. © Pippa Ranger/Department for International Development

The expectation of perfection: interview with Nidhi Goyal on the intersection of gender and disability norms in India

Author: Nidhi Goyal

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

24 November 2020

Nohra Padilla, leader of the Asociación de Recicladores de Bogotá (ARB) leads a contingent of waste pickers as they demonstrate against city policies and programmes affecting waste pickers. © Juan Arredondo/Getty Images/Images of Empowerment

How can we better understand and measure violence against women in politics?

Authors: Nandita Bhan, Jennifer Yore, Anita Raj

Published by: ALIGN

Interviews

1 October 2020

In conversation with...

Interviews with experts from the ALIGN community.

Blog

28 October 2020

A busy Vietnamese high street. © Thanh Tung/Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment

Using the Social Norms Analysis Framework (SNAP) to explore the influence of social norms on women’s economic participation in Vietnam

Author: My Linh Nguyen

Published by: ALIGN, Care

Blog

15 October 2020

Women account for around half of the Viet Nam's workforce, but occupy less than a quarter of senior management roles. © Thanh Tung/Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment

To support women in leadership, address their caregiving burden

Authors: Takara Morgan, Le Thi Hong Giang

Published by: Care, CARE International in Viet Nam, ALIGN

Blog

25 September 2020

A family spending time with their child. A scene from the documentary film, Parwaaz | Flight (2020), produced by ICRW and directed by Mixed Media Productions © ICRW

World Contraception Day: Why men must be part of the story

Authors: Kuhika Seth, Sharmishtha Nanda, Aishwarya Sahay, Pranita Achyut, Sneha Sharma

Published by: ALIGN, ICRW

Interview

16 September 2020

Sudanese weigh in on peace agreement in Blue Nile State, Musfa, Sudan. © UN Photo/Tim McKulka (Photo ID 462222. 25/01/2011)

Gender norms, intersectionality and social protection: In conversation with UNICEF's Dr Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed

Authors: Zahrah Nesbitt-Ahmed, Carmen Leon-Himmelstine

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

1 October 2020

The birth of the Commission on the Status of Women in the 1946 UN General Assembly. © UN Women

25 years after Beijing: Time to kick-start a new era for gender equality through norm change

Author: Sophia M. D’Angelo

Published by: ALIGN

Interview

16 September 2020

Pride in San Francisco 2015 with Apple. © Thomas Hawk

The intersectionality of gender norms: In conversation with TrueChild's Riki Wilchins

Author: Riki Wilchins

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

12 August 2020

Women on a bus wearing facemasks. Credit: Gender and Covid-19 Working Group

Gender norms, intersectionality and a COVID-19 ‘global reset’

Author: Caroline Harper

Published by: Gender and Covid-19 Working Group

Interview

7 July 2020

Jacinda Ardern, who has been described as being gender-sensitive leader, at the World Economic Forum. © World Economic Forum/Boris Baldinger

Women’s leadership - and gender-sensitive leadership - during Covid-19 and beyond: Interview with Sara Pantuliano

Authors: Sara Pantuliano, Rachel George, Caroline Harper

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

15 June 2020

A market seller in Kenya. ©World Bank / Sambrian Mbaabu

Teasing apart the relationship between family planning and Covid-19

Author: Sarah Castle

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

9 June 2020

A remote village on Vanua Balavu island, Fiji. © Will Seal

Could the Covid-19 crisis advance gender equality? Perspectives from Fiji

Author: William Hamilton

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

19 May 2020

Young women dancing in Gambia © Matthew Shaw

Building momentum for scaling-up prevention of gender-based violence: the importance of norm change initiatives at community level

Authors: The Community for Understanding Scale Up

Published by: ALIGN, Community for Understanding Scale Up (CUSP)

Blog

4 May 2020

Men smiling in Raniganj, Bihar, India. © Paula Bronstein/Getty Images/Images of Empowerment

Transforming men, transforming masculinities

Authors: Nalini V. Khurana, Sapna Kedia, Ravi Verma

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

16 April 2020

A nurse checks the temperature of a patient at Redemption Hospital in Monrovia, Liberia. © Dominic Chavez/World Bank

How gender norms play out in the Covid-19 response

Authors: Rosemary Morgan, Sara E. Davies

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

17 April 2020

Silhouette of a women © Yoab Anderson/Unsplash

Tackling a double pandemic – how Covid-19 influences gender-based violence, and what can be done

Author: Carmen Leon-Himmelstine

Published by: ODI

Blog

8 April 2020

The female labour force participation rate is high in Vietnam, but inequalities informed by traditional social norms persist in workplaces between women and men. © Thang Tung / Institute for Studies of Society, Economy and Environment Vietnam

The influence of urban millennials on gender norms

Author: Kim Patria

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

6 April 2020

A female trader at the Al Obaied Crop Market, Sudan. © Salahaldeen Nadir / World Bank

Tracking attitudes on gender equality

Author: Carolina Rivera Vázquez

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

23 March 2020

Girls taking part in sport at school. Credit: Tanya Holden/DFID

Data on gender norms: can we find and use what is missing?

Authors: Rebecka Lundgren , Meredith Pierce, Anita Raj, Namratha Rao

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

6 March 2020

Female resident washing the dishes in the Philippines. © Asian Development Bank

Five ways to change gender norms in unpaid care and domestic work

Author: Carmen Leon-Himmelstine

Published by: ODI

Blog

16 January 2020

Health checks for men at a barbers’ shop in Bradford UK. © Bradford Health of Men project

Thinking outside 'the box' on men's health

Authors: Peter Baker

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

10 January 2020

International Women's Day 2018, Lebanon. © Fe-Male

Young feminists weave new narratives in the face of backlash

Authors: María Díaz Ezquerro, Ruby Johnson

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

9 December 2019

An example of one of the photos taken as part of the Visionara research.

The ALIGN Research Fund: six fund ‘winners’ showcase local action to challenge gender norms

Authors: Paola Pereznieto

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

18 November 2019

‘I was unstoppable!’ - women’s collective agency to change discriminatory gender norms in Uganda and Nepal

Author: Carol Watson

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

18 November 2019

Gender-equitable laws and policies meet resistance on the ground: findings from Uganda and Nepal

Author: Carol Watson

Published by: ALIGN

18 November 2019

UN Women Executive Director hears from rural tech gurus, Gujarat, India, 2014. Photo: UN Women/Gaganjit Singh CC BY-NC-ND 2.0

Many gains, but many miles to go: women in power since 1995

Significant progress has been made since the 1995 Beijing Conference, but there’s still a long way to go for women in power. Published by: ODI

Blog

28 October 2019

Iranian women fans arrive to attend Iran's FIFA World Cup Asian qualifier match. © Nazanin Tabatabaee/WANA (West Asia News Agency) via THIRD PARTY - RC115E470720

Promoting women’s economic empowerment: Mission impossible?

Author: Talajeh Livani

Published by: Brookings

Blog

11 October 2019

Autumn Peltier, 13-year-old water advocate from the Anishinaabe tribe of Canada, addresses the event to launch the International Decade for Action titled “Water for Sustainable Development 2018–2028”. ©UN Photo/Manuel Elias

Activist girls: a driving force for gender norm change

Author: Rachel Marcus

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

25 July 2019

Photo: Yavuz Sariyildiz, 2012 CGAP Photo Contest

Social norms and women’s financial inclusion: The role of providers

Author: Yasmin Bin-Humam

Published by: CGAP

Blog

16 May 2019

A worker at a silk thread factory in Turkey. Photo: Bulent Suberk, 2016 CGAP Photo Contest

Diagnosing social norms in women’s financial inclusion programming

Author: Yasmin Bin-Humam

Published by: CGAP

Blog

9 July 2019

We need to focus on gender norms to reach the global goal on education

Author: Rachel Marcus

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

4 July 2019

Social norms and the ‘power within’ – how MUVA builds young people’s soft skills

Authors: Jana Bischler, Anne Cecile Manicom Rebelo

Published by: ALIGN, MUVA

Blog

24 June 2019

Did Women Deliver 2019 actually deliver?

Author: Caroline Harper

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

14 June 2019

Participants sit outside at the conference

Re-think, re-boot, re-imagine and re-act!

Author: Sapna Kedia

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

2 June 2019

A mobile clinical outreach team from Marie Stopes International, a specialized sexual reproductive health and family planning organization in Senegal. © Jonathan Torgovnik

Eliminate gender inequality and restrictive gender norms and improve health for all

Author: Gary Darmstadt

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

29 May 2019

How media can shape social and gender norms

Author: Poonam Muttreja

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

26 April 2019

A woman distributes cassava cuttings while others plant them on on July 12, 2017 in Nigeria. (Photo by STEFAN HEUNIS/AFP/Getty Images).

Gender norms and women’s economic empowerment in low-income countries: What we learned by reviewing the evidence

Authors: H. Elizabeth Peters, Shirley Adelstein, Robert Abare

Published by: Urban Institute

Blog

16 April 2019

Exploring the potential for adolescent girls to disrupt harmful gender norms: Evidence from Africa

Authors: Lilli Loveday, Jenny Rivett

Published by: ALIGN, Plan International UK

Blog

28 March 2019

Building health systems that transform gender norms

Authors: Suzanne Petroni

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

13 March 2019

Tackling gender norms offers hope for girls’ education in low- and middle-income countries

Author: Catherine Jere

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

11 March 2019

Imagining a Feminist Internet in South Asia - an ALIGN-sponsored convening

Authors: Suzanne Petroni

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

5 March 2019

Are gender norms the new magic bullet in development?

Author: Caroline Harper

Published by: OECD

Blog

5 March 2019

Who’s doing what at the intersection of gender norms and women’s economic empowerment?

Author: Rebecca Calder

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

21 February 2019

Ground-breaking conference in Laos focuses on gender norms and violence against women

Authors: Suzanne Petroni

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

19 February 2019

Village mentors preparing for group education session with adolescent girls, using the based on PAnKH Diary, in Dholpur, Rajasthan, India. © ICRW

The ‘Why’ and ‘How’ of sustaining work on changing gender norms

Author: Hemlata Verma

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

19 February 2019

Could preschool teachers hold the key to gender equity?

Author: Sven Rooms

Published by: ALIGN

Blog

13 February 2019

A campaign cartoon in French that says a man who hits his daughter isn't a good father

What French speakers in humanitarian aid and development organizations need to know about gender norms

Author: Virginie Le Masson

Published by: ALIGN

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