Abstract

The increased female enrollmemt trend at higher education level is encouraging as females comprise more than 50% of the population hence social development is impossible without women empowerment. But at the same time, this leads to imperative societal changes in basic social institutions, workplace environment and job conditions etc. In this context, this study intends to brainstorm the probable transformations in social, cultural and economic spheres of life. The study was designed using mixed-methods research approach and carried out in two phases. In phase-I, interviews were conducted from sociologists, anthropologists, educationists and gender specialist working in universities and other relevant institutions to encompass the social, cultural and economic implications. The generated data was used to identify the themes, sub-themes and indicators leading to the development of survey questionnaire “Gender Imbalance Implications Questionnaire” (GIIQ).In phase-II, we collected data from a representative sample of university students (N=2885) teachers (N=557) from 12 universities of Punjab. The findings inferred the information about the nature of societal, cultural and economic transformations envisioned by the participants of the study and the relevance of socio-economic, academic and family factors for the anticipated transformations and policy implications.