Based on quantitative and qualitative data collected from different generational cohorts, this article reveals a progressive tendency over the last 70 years towards joint household decision‐making regarding land and housing in a rural municipality in the Colombian Andes. This shift is linked to changing social norms relating to household headship. It highlights the need to acknowledge diverse realities in the Latin American context and to avoid stereotypes of rigid gender divides and women's privation and ‘powerlessness’ in rural communities.