Ideologies, institutions and power: Addressing discriminatory social norms

This framework is UN Women’s strategy to address discriminatory social norms implicated in gender equality and women’s empowerment.

Based on extensive research by UN Women, primarily in the Global South, on “how change happens” and on the advice of an expert group, the framework defines social norms as embedded in social institutions and proposes three pathways for changing discriminatory norms:

• Transforming narratives through the development of counter-narratives, and building whole-of-society consensus;
• Changing the material conditions of the lives of women and girls; and
• Strengthening countervailing power through supporting women’s organizations and building coalitions with diverse movements and actors.

This framework outlines how UN Women will implement this strategy, report more accurately and meaningfully on social norms change, and inform the broader global discourse on social norms. It provides the basis for partnerships and joint work on social norms change.