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EQUAL RIGHTS BETWEEN SEXES favour of the under-represented sex.” In the Treaty of Amsterdam (1997) and as a result of the democratic process, efforts to promote gender equality have been put forward through legal regulations, even in science. In other words, the EU is determined to eliminate inequalities and actively promote equality between men and women in science as well, and it applies positive discrimination to this end. To promote gender equality in science, the European Union established a women’s science department in 1998. It has also set up the “Helsinki Group” of Member States’ representatives to coordinate policies on these issues across Europe. The practical implementation of positive discrimination relative to women is represented by the program allowing for women to get two more years to complete any application related to age or the deadline for obtaining an academic degree if they have a child under the age of 10. In the case of female educators, the age limit for children is postponed by two years. This was an important step towards addressing the structural disadvantage of women.” The possibility of positive discrimination is also explicitly provided in the Hungarian Fundamental Law (Article XV, paragraph 4.5). It is based on the principle of equity, which we have already outlined. It is known that discrimination would occur if something (right, benefit, etc.) were to be favourable for everyone, but that would not benefit anyone. However, in the case of positive discrimination, the beneficiary will receive some form of entitlement even though it is not due to others. However, positive discrimination can only be justified by the creation of equal opportunities and the realization of social inclusion, so the benefits cannot be distributed arbitrarily. Families, children, women, the elderly and people with disabilities receive special protection, but in their case, this positive discrimination only offers a chance of catching up and in no way replaces performance. It can be seen therefore, that the true equality of opportunity based on the principle of equity has been ensured by both national and international regulations of contractual value, as well as the so-called soft law rules. That is why it is necessary to look more closely at why, in practice, there is still discrimination between the genders. Nota bene, all of these efforts, the success in applying various legal documents can be considered only together with their evolutive interpretation, and the different scope and speed of implementation in states with different religious and cultural backgrounds and with different interpretational frameworks also # EU Charter of Fundamental Rights, Article 23 — Equality between women and men, https:// fra.europa.eu/en/eu-charter/article/23-equality-between-women-and-men (accessed 11 December 2019). 50 Pető, A.: A nők a tudomanyban, Magyar Tudomdny, 2018/04. Retrieved from https://mersz. hu/dokumentum/matud__173 (accessed 12 December 2019). + 29 +
