What social and economic effects did higher education have on women

As women have been able to access higher education, many social and economic changes have been triggered. Women are now prepared to do skilled types of work out of the household, just the same as men.

From the social point of view, this situation is a step forward in the fight for equality between women and men. Women are not economicaly dependent of their husbands or fathers anymore, as they earn their own salaries. Moreover, the family model has also changed as both wives and husbands usually work out of the house. It is very common that couples decide to have less children than in previous generations, and usually maternity takes place at later ages, or does not take place at all, as some women choose their professional careers over the family life.  

From the economic viewpoint, the generalization of this situation abruptly increased the activity rates some decades ago, as the female half of the population had traditionally been inactive but are now part of  the laborforce. They are now contributing to production mechanisms through their work, and hence GDP and gross production figures were boosted. The decrease in the fertility rates will bring negative demographic and economic consequences, as countries run towards overaged populations and these dificulties will become even sharper in economies with public pension systems, such as Spain.

your answer would be (b)