Male Backlash and Female Guilt: Women’s Employment and Intimate Partner Violence in Urban India

This study investigates the relationship between a married woman’s paid work participation and her exposure to intimate partner violence (IPV) in urban India. Results show that due to the male backlash channel, women in employment face significantly higher levels of IPV compared to women involved in domestic work only. The study does not find evidence that any autonomy women gain by doing paid work lowers their experience of IPV. Furthermore, this paper contributes to the literature on gender-based violence by introducing and testing for a “female guilt channel” – a phenomenon in which women in paid work justify IPV against them more than those not in paid work – that, in turn, further raises their IPV exposure. The paper finds weak evidence for the guilt channel in the overall sample and stronger evidence among women with intermediate levels of education. HIGHLIGHTS Women in paid work in urban India are more likely to accept intimate partner violence (IPV), as well as experience a higher degree of marital controlling behavior by husbands. Urban women and men with tertiary education are most likely to overcome gendered norms for paid work. IPV is higher among urban women in paid work whose husbands are not employed or earning less. Raising women’s economic opportunities alone may not lead to universally better outcomes for them inside households.