The Millennium Development Goals Agenda: Constraints of culture, economy and empowerment in influencing the social mobility of Pakistani girls on mathematics and science related higher education courses in Universities in Pakistan Tamjid Mujtaba 1 and Michael J. Reiss Institute of Education, University of London, England The third of the eight Millennium Development Goals is to promote gender equality and empower women. This paper discusses the factors which are associated with 31 female higher education students’ choices and aspirations to pursue education and careers in mathematics and science related fields. The analysis is based on semi- structured interviews. Patriarchal values in society impacted females’ own perceptions of their ability and aspirations. Although extrinsic social gain motivation underpinned females’ choices, they had little awareness of the economic benefits of mathematics and science qualifications. Teaching styles were associated with females were leaving the mathematics and science pipeline. Key words: Pakistan; gender; psychology; mathematics; science; aspirations; motivation Introduction Pakistan, a member of the Commonwealth, consists of eight provinces and federal territories; the most densely populated is Islamabad (the area in which this study is based). At present Pakistan has a range of challenges which include poverty, corruption, high rates of illiteracy, overpopulation, terrorism and gender inequalities both in education and the workforce(UNDP, 2013). At the age of 16, in order to obtain the Secondary School Certificate, students need to take exams in eight subjects, five of which are compulsory: 1 Email: t.mujtaba@ioe.ac.uk