In societies where men tend to hold more power, helping married women gain more control over their lives can make a big difference. New research from the University of Texas at Arlington looked at how counseling sessions could help couples in places like Kanpur, India.

They split 900 couples into groups. Some got counseling sessions where they talked about things like fairness between men and women and how to trust each other better. Others did these sessions and also did activities together, like blindfolded games to build trust.

Promising results

The results were promising. Women who got both counseling and activities started spending more time working, especially in small businesses they ran themselves. Meanwhile, their husbands started helping out more at home. This led to better communication and more money coming into the household.

This study shows that simple interventions can go a long way in giving women more independence and making families stronger, even in places where traditional gender roles are deeply rooted.

Additionally, the study revealed that men who took part in counseling and joined in on couples’ activities upped their contribution to household chores by almost 36 minutes each day. Those who only had counseling saw a boost of 24 minutes. These results suggest that getting hands-on with activities is much more effective than just learning theories when it comes to helping women get more involved in the workforce.

Sharing the load

“If the burden of the household production is only on one person, then that one person’s likelihood of getting a job is reduced,” the author reveals.

Although counseling played a significant role in the study, the author noted that couples benefited even more from spending quality time together and engaging in activities. Interestingly, incidents of domestic violence decreased among participating couples.

While the research took place in India, he believes its lessons are universal. His emphasis on respect and communication suggests that couples worldwide can glean valuable insights from his findings.

“If couples can spend quality time with each other, that could improve trust, cooperation, respect and eventually improve women’s labor force participation in patriarchal contexts,” he concluded.