The sign on the road in the Khasi hills of northeast India had a puzzling message: "Equitable distribution of self-acquired property rights." We asked Minott, our driver, what it meant. "I do not work in the rice fields, like most men of my tribe," he told us proudly. "I work as a translator. And a driver. And I operate a gas station in my sister's house. And I trade goods at the market. You see! I work very hard!" We nodded in agreement. He certainly seemed like a natural-born entrepreneur….But Minott's life was constricted. Many of the things he wanted to do required his sister's permission, because in the matrilineal Khasi society, women hold the economic power. The sign on the road, Minott explained, was part of a nascent men's movement, as the men in Khasi society began to articulate their resentment over being treated as "breeding bulls and babysitters." Here was a parallel universe--one we believed might help us solve one of the most vexing economic questions in Western society, inequality between men and women. Excerpted from The Why Axis: Hidden Motives and the Undiscovered Economics of Everyday Life by Uri Gneezy, John List All rights reserved by the original copyright owners. Excerpts are provided for display purposes only and may not be reproduced, reprinted or distributed without the written permission of the publisher.
