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Universal access to higher education and radical increase in demand for higher education in 2000s necessitated the expansion of higher education institutions. The rise in the number of such institutions was unprecedented. In fact, all districts of Iran had a higher education institution by 2008. Even very small districts received a private or public higher education institution to reduce transportation costs and expand access to higher education. This enhanced access has a more disproportionate effect on women compared to men. In this paper we combine data on higher education institutions between 1999 and 2016 with educational outcomes of individuals aged between 18 to 35 years old in the population census 2016 to estimate the impact of access to higher education on educational attainment and educational gender gap. Using district and age fixed effects, we do not find a significant effect on overall education of individuals. However, women received a significantly larger benefit from the expansion of higher education institutions.

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 In the last three decades, along with the development of knowledge-based economy, the development of businesses related to this field has also taken a growing trend and the concept of entrepreneurship has found an important role in the growing economy. Knowledge-based economics as an emerging field and with the focus on information technology and communication technology grew significantly. According to the International Telecommunication Union (2016), ICT-related businesses will account for 95% of all global companies, as well as one-third of all global formal-related businesses in the next decade. The purpose of the present study is to explore the contribution of women in the Persian Gulf region in the field of science, technology and knowledge-based economy using the documentary research method. The research results revealed that in the said field, there is an extensive opportunity to reduce the economic gender gap. Comparing the trend of women's participation in this field shows that the progress of women has been smooth in some countries while in some others, more development is needed. Suggestions have been made for the development of women's technical and professional knowledge, balancing between work and life, and implementing supportive policies.