In 2021, the OECD Development Centre’s report Man Enough? Measuring Masculine Norms to Promote Women’s Empowerment introduced a conceptual framework to analyse and measure restrictive masculinities and their implications for gender equality. Masculinities encompass the various socially constructed ways of being and acting, values and expectations associated with being and becoming a man in a given society, location and temporal space. They relate to perceived notions, shared by both men and women, about how men are expected to behave in specific settings in order to be considered “real” men. The report articulated a ten-norm framework capturing key expectations surrounding men’s roles, behaviours and authority, and proposed an initial set of indicators to address the limited availability of systematic and comparable data on masculine norms across contexts.
This report takes that framework from concept to application. Following a successful pilot by Ireland, it applies the conceptual and measurement tools developed in Man Enough? to country contexts, using new empirical evidence from Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal. Drawing on original, nationally representative survey data from Côte d’Ivoire and qualitative research from Senegal, the report examines how restrictive masculine norms manifest themselves in everyday life and how they shape gender equality outcomes in these two countries.
The analysis focuses on the interaction between masculinities, women’s economic empowerment and gender-based violence, while recognising that restrictive norms also affect men and boys themselves. By applying the framework in Côte d’Ivoire and Senegal, the report enhances the understanding of how masculine norms are maintained, experienced and negotiated across different social and geographic contexts.
This work builds on the Development Centre’s long-standing expertise in identifying and measuring discriminatory social institutions, notably through the Social Institutions and Gender Index (SIGI). As with SIGI, the report is grounded in a central premise: advancing gender equality requires more than measuring unequal outcomes. It also requires “making the invisible visible”, by examining the social norms, expectations and practices that underpin them. Restrictive masculinities form part of this broader institutional environment, shaping assumptions around authority, paid work, care responsibilities and social roles.
Beyond its analytical contribution, the report advances the measurement agenda by operationalising indicators to measure and monitor masculine norms at country level. These tools are intended to support policymakers, civil society organisations, development partners and other stakeholders in identifying entry points for policies and programmes that promote positive and gender-equitable masculinities. By applying a consistent framework across country contexts, the report aims to inform future research, policy dialogue and collective action to address the social foundations of gender inequality.