Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda

Faced with incomplete and imperfect information, economic actors rely predominantly on perceptions and often base decisions on heuristics prone to bias. Gender bias in perceptions favoring men has been found in a wide variety of settings and may be an important reason why some sectors remain dominat...

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Main Authors: De, Anusha, Miehe, Caroline, Van Campenhout, Bjorn
Format: Artículo preliminar
Language:Inglés
Published: International Food Policy Research Institute 2022
Subjects:
Online Access:https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128118
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author De, Anusha
Miehe, Caroline
Van Campenhout, Bjorn
author_browse De, Anusha
Miehe, Caroline
Van Campenhout, Bjorn
author_facet De, Anusha
Miehe, Caroline
Van Campenhout, Bjorn
author_sort De, Anusha
collection Repository of Agricultural Research Outputs (CGSpace)
description Faced with incomplete and imperfect information, economic actors rely predominantly on perceptions and often base decisions on heuristics prone to bias. Gender bias in perceptions favoring men has been found in a wide variety of settings and may be an important reason why some sectors remain dominated by men and gender gaps persist. Using ratings of agro-input dealers provided by smallholder farmers in their vicinity, we test if farmers perceive male-managed agro-input shops differently than agro-input shops managed by women. After controlling for observable characteristics at the input dealer level and including fixed effects to account for farmer-level heterogeneity, we find that farmers rate male-managed agro-input outlets higher on a range of attributes related to the dealership in general, as well as when farmers are asked to consider the quality of inputs sold by the dealer. Our results suggest that consumers' biased perceptions continue to be an important entry barrier for women in the subsector, and we conclude that policies and interventions designed to challenge gender norms and customs are needed to correct bias in perceptions.
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publishDate 2022
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spelling CGSpace1281182025-11-06T07:21:41Z Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda De, Anusha Miehe, Caroline Van Campenhout, Bjorn gender consumer attitudes farmers gender norms discrimination farm inputs Faced with incomplete and imperfect information, economic actors rely predominantly on perceptions and often base decisions on heuristics prone to bias. Gender bias in perceptions favoring men has been found in a wide variety of settings and may be an important reason why some sectors remain dominated by men and gender gaps persist. Using ratings of agro-input dealers provided by smallholder farmers in their vicinity, we test if farmers perceive male-managed agro-input shops differently than agro-input shops managed by women. After controlling for observable characteristics at the input dealer level and including fixed effects to account for farmer-level heterogeneity, we find that farmers rate male-managed agro-input outlets higher on a range of attributes related to the dealership in general, as well as when farmers are asked to consider the quality of inputs sold by the dealer. Our results suggest that consumers' biased perceptions continue to be an important entry barrier for women in the subsector, and we conclude that policies and interventions designed to challenge gender norms and customs are needed to correct bias in perceptions. 2022-07-22 2023-01-24T18:53:46Z 2023-01-24T18:53:46Z Working Paper https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128118 en https://doi.org/10.1016/j.agsy.2024.103954 https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.134733 https://theconversation.com/what-changed-when-ugandan-farmers-rated-input-quality-and-local-vendor-services-177750 Open Access application/pdf International Food Policy Research Institute De, Anusha; Miehe, Caroline; and Van Campenhout, Bjorn. 2022. Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda. IFPRI Discussion Paper 2132. Washington, DC: International Food Policy Research Institute (IFPRI). https://doi.org/10.2499/p15738coll2.136307.
spellingShingle gender
consumer attitudes
farmers
gender norms
discrimination
farm inputs
De, Anusha
Miehe, Caroline
Van Campenhout, Bjorn
Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda
title Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda
title_full Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda
title_fullStr Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda
title_full_unstemmed Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda
title_short Gender bias in consumer perceptions: The case of agro-input dealers in Uganda
title_sort gender bias in consumer perceptions the case of agro input dealers in uganda
topic gender
consumer attitudes
farmers
gender norms
discrimination
farm inputs
url https://hdl.handle.net/10568/128118
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AT miehecaroline genderbiasinconsumerperceptionsthecaseofagroinputdealersinuganda
AT vancampenhoutbjorn genderbiasinconsumerperceptionsthecaseofagroinputdealersinuganda