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GENDER HISTORY RETROSPECTIVE IN HUNGARY AFTER 1949 in 1978.%% The proportion of women among researchers rose to 22% by 1970-71, growing to 26% in 1975. The number of female researchers rose further during the ’80s, their proportion reaching 27%, 11% among professors and 16% among research unit leaders.*”* Beside gender distribution and the increased number of women, the composition of white-collar society has significantly changed after 1945. It is the prestige of specialist intellectuals that rose primarily, thus increasing the recognition of technical and economic careers. It can, however, be pointed out that the proportion of men in the new political system and restructured white-collar field was still significantly higher in the university departments enjoying higher prestige (such as the technical, economic or law faculties), while the number of women was only higher in places of lesser prestige value.*”° So ultimately, even though their number had risen to a huge extent in higher education, this did not result in a reduction of the present disadvantage of women in the socio-economic field. The situation shifted by the ’70s insofar as the gender proportion became somewhat balanced in economic, arts, law, medical faculties and departments of the natural sciences. This still did not change the general rule that the technical careers belonged to men, with pedagogy belonging to women.*”° In the business world — similar to what can be experienced in the scientific value hierarchy — gender segregation was still apparent. Though it may have seemed, based on the economic activity of women, that the objective of state socialism with regards to equal opportunities had been fulfilled, the gender disparity had been reproduced in practice. In her book Feltérekvé dolgozé né |The emerging working woman], Maria Schadt pointed out that women’s ideals created by propaganda (Stakhanovite women, etc.) may have increased the number of working women, but they primarily succeeded in feminising those workplaces offering bad wages.*” There is one more interesting thing. If you look at certain positions, like that of an assistant dean for education, meaning when there is work to do, where the burden is significant, women are immediately found, but if it comes to leadership and acknowledgement, higher wages, men come to the limelight at once [...] (Subject no. 9, natural sciences) The high influx of women onto the labour market has — similarly to higher education — not come with the reduction of social-gender segregation and stratification. 3% Ferge: Vältozik-e manapsäg, 890-893. Cf. Faragó: Nők a tudományban, 27. 325 M. Schadt, Ellentmondásos..., 66. 326 Ferge: Változik-e manapság, 888. 327 Schadt: , A feltörekvő dolgozó nő", 9. 324 e 113"
