Gender equality in science - equal opportunities and special measures in legal regulations

Abstract

The text focuses on researching the sources that define public policies and those that form the legal framework within which there are (or are not) equal opportunities for women and men to exercise their rights under equal conditions, including the right to engage in scientific work. Documents (strategies and action plans) in the fields of education, science, gender equality and non-discrimination are the subject of attention. The research is also supported by legal regulations that positivise public policies through binding norms, which include international legal sources containing human rights and gender equality standards in the field of scientific work, as well as domestic legislation (Constitution and laws). The Constitution of the Republic of Serbia in its basic principles guarantees the equality of women and men and obliges the state to pursue a policy of equal opportunities and take special measures in order to achieve in practice the gender equality proclaimed by the Constitution. Our question is whether the state fulfils this constitutional obligation, whether it pursues a policy of equal opportunities in the field of science, whether it takes special measures as instruments for conducting a policy of equal opportunities, whether any special measures which are undertaken are sufficient and what effect they have.