Are Male University Students’ Perception on Female Gender role Differs with Higher Education and Discipline of Study?

Higher education and wider exposure to outside world through information technology is expected to change the mindset of university students on perception of gender roles. Perception of male students regarding female gender role of mother, wife and girlfriend was studied by using a self-administered questionnaire on randomly selected 560 students from a state university Sri Lanka. Nearly 67%% of the respondents agreed that it should be men who should hold managerial/administrative posts and there was no difference among different faculties with this regard. Eighty eight percent students did not approve wife or girl friend wearing trousers and nearly 80% sleeveless blouses. Nearly half the sample (48.3%) condoned verbal abuse of wives. However, more than 78% students did not condone physical abuse of their mother (by the father), girlfriend or wife. It is imperative to change the mindset of university students who will be future leaders for the society to progress in gender equity and equality.