By Zack Zimbalist

In a new publication titled “Gender-of-Interviewer Effects on Support for Women's Rights and Democracy in Africa,” I investigate whether and how the gender of an interviewer affects one’s responses to a range of survey items.

Public attitude surveys provide invaluable insights into societal views on women’s rights, democracy, and other critical issues. However, many studies do not account for biases introduced by the interviewer’s gender, which can distort estimates of public opinion and key relationships among covariates of interest. This paper examines gender-of-interviewer effects on public support for women’s rights to work and own and inherit land, using data from 34 African countries.

In line with prevailing conservative social norms in many parts of Africa, the analysis reveals significant gender-of-interviewer effects, with respondents reporting more gender-unequal attitudes when interviewed by male interviewers.

These findings highlight the importance of accounting for such biases to ensure the validity of public opinion research and analyses based on these variables. Regarding women’s rights, it is likely that support for gender equality is under-estimated in many African countries because respondents adjust their responses to cater to the gender unequal norm when interviewed by a male. Alternative survey techniques could be deployed to ensure that respondents feel free from pressure, enabling them to provide their honest beliefs and assessments on important gender-related questions.

You can find to full-text of the artcile here: Gender-of-Interviewer Effects on Support for Women’s Rights and Democracy in Africa | Government and Opposition | Cambridge Core

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