Since 2000, a number of legal and political measures and mechanisms
have been implemented to advance gender equality in research and higher education
institutions in Serbia, mainly as a part of the process of harmonisation of legislation
with the EU standards on gender equality. However, while on one side the relatively
high score on the Gender Equality Index is often evoked in political discourse to support
the claim that Serbia is doing well regarding gender equality in higher education, most
of the empirical research done in Serbia reveales persistent gender inequalities, gendered
career possibilities, and unequal working conditions in academia for women and men.
Originating from those contradictary assertations, our main research interest in this
chapter is concerned with the way in which the concept of gender equality is understood
in the normative frame of Serbia. Our hypothesis is that gender inequalities in the
academic sphere are acctually supported by the way in which the concept of gender
equality is framed in the Serbian normative order.
Our study will be based on the analyses of documents that form the normative
framework of gender equality in higher education in Serbia. In addition, we will analyse
the data gathered in interviews with the academics of the University of Belgrade. Hence,
an inappropriate normative framework will be detected, explored, and additionally
explained through its visible practical implication
