Fostering Women's Interest in Economics: Empirical Evidence on the Influence of Female Role Models in India

Last registered on October 07, 2024

Pre-Trial

Trial Information

General Information

Title
Fostering Women's Interest in Economics: Empirical Evidence on the Influence of Female Role Models in India
RCT ID
AEARCTR-0013945
Initial registration date
September 26, 2024

Initial registration date is when the trial was registered.

It corresponds to when the registration was submitted to the Registry to be reviewed for publication.

First published
October 07, 2024, 7:02 PM EDT

First published corresponds to when the trial was first made public on the Registry after being reviewed.

Locations

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Primary Investigator

Affiliation
Indian Statistical Institute, Delhi

Other Primary Investigator(s)

PI Affiliation
Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research, Mumbai

Additional Trial Information

Status
In development
Start date
2024-09-30
End date
2025-10-31
Secondary IDs
Prior work
This trial does not extend or rely on any prior RCTs.
Abstract
We are conducting an intervention to motivate girls in colleges in Haryana, a state in India, to continue pursuing studies in Economics. Given the state's entrenched gender norms, we aim to see if exposure to female role models can change their aspirations, performance in college exams, dropout rate and interest/enrolment in pursuing a Masters in Economics. Our experiment involves showing college students recorded videos of six female role models with roots in Haryana and a background in Economics working in various fields such as academia, corporate, and bureaucracy. Each role model will share her journey, the obstacles she faced, and how she overcame them along with sharing her professional work. By showcasing these diverse success stories, we hope to inspire and encourage the girls to advance in the field of Economics.
External Link(s)

Registration Citation

Citation
Aggarwal, Akanksha and Bharti Nandwani. 2024. "Fostering Women's Interest in Economics: Empirical Evidence on the Influence of Female Role Models in India." AEA RCT Registry. October 07. https://doi.org/10.1257/rct.13945-1.0
Sponsors & Partners

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Experimental Details

Interventions

Intervention(s)
Intervention Start Date
2024-10-07
Intervention End Date
2024-11-30

Primary Outcomes

Primary Outcomes (end points)
Enrolment in Masters, Interest in pursuing Masters, Appearing in Masters Entrances, Dropout, Marks in College subjects, Aspirations
Primary Outcomes (explanation)

Secondary Outcomes

Secondary Outcomes (end points)
Perception towards Economics, Grit (Duckworth & Quinn 2009), Gender Attitudes, Growth Mindset (3 -item scale by Carol Dweck)
Secondary Outcomes (explanation)

Experimental Design

Experimental Design
We plan to conduct the experiment in 60 colleges of a University in Haryana. Half of these colleges will be randomly selected to receive the treatment, which involves exposure to female role models, while the remaining will serve as control group. The intervention will target both third-year and first-year students. Third-year students are included because they are at a critical point in considering their post-graduation plans, while first-year students will be included to determine if early exposure to role models has an impact on their career aspirations and decisions.
Experimental Design Details
Not available
Randomization Method
Randomization done in office by a computer
Randomization Unit
College
Was the treatment clustered?
Yes

Experiment Characteristics

Sample size: planned number of clusters
60 colleges
Sample size: planned number of observations
1200 students
Sample size (or number of clusters) by treatment arms
30 colleges control, 30 colleges treatment
Minimum detectable effect size for main outcomes (accounting for sample design and clustering)
IRB

Institutional Review Boards (IRBs)

IRB Name
Research Ethics Committee, Indira Gandhi Institute of Development Research
IRB Approval Date
2024-08-30
IRB Approval Number
N/A