Best Practices in the Study of Gender

Area of Science:

• Research and Innovation Policy
• Gender Studies
• Health Equity

Background:

• Traditional biomedical research often failed due to a 'one size fits all' approach.
• Major funding bodies (e.g., EU, CIHR, NIH) mandate integrating sex and gender in research.
• While sex differences are increasingly addressed, integrating gender analysis remains challenging.

Purpose of the Study:

• To provide an overview of international policies on sex, gender, and intersectional analysis in research and innovation.
• To describe best practices for integrating these analyses into research and innovation.
• To identify challenges in implementing sex and gender integration in research.

Main Methods:

• Review of international policies and gender equality frameworks, focusing on the EU.
• Compilation and description of best practices for integrating sex, gender, and intersectional analyses.
• Identification of challenges and future directions.

Main Results:

• International policies increasingly mandate sex, gender, and intersectional analyses in research and innovation.
• Best practices offer a coherent set of processes for integrating these dimensions.
• Challenges persist in the practical application of gender analysis in research design.

Conclusions:

• Integrating sex and gender is crucial for equitable and effective research and innovation.
• A multidimensional understanding of gender (norms, identities, relations) is essential.
• Further development of best practices and addressing implementation challenges are needed.