New benchmark report: Integrating the gender dimension into research and innovation

GENDERACTIONplus has conducted a benchmarking report to evaluate existing policies and measures integrating the gender dimension into research and innovation (R&I). The analysis is based on survey responses from 20 Research Funding Organizations (RFOs) and 15 national authorities.

The benchmarking report shows that there is a need for clear communication to distinguish gender dimension in R&I from general gender equality policies, as confusion persists among stakeholders. Only 20 % of national authorities have specific policies for integrating sex/gender analysis into R&I content, while 60 % of RFOs have adopted such policies.

The most common measure for promoting the gender dimension in R&I content is requiring applicants to specify sex/gender considerations in their proposals. Monitoring and evaluating the implementation of these policies remains largely overlooked by national authorities and RFOs.

Promising practices highlighted include comprehensive policies by RFOs such as Vinnova (Sweden), AEI (Spain), and TACR (Czech Republic), as well as evaluation initiatives by IRC (Ireland) and Forte (Sweden).

Recommendations for further improvement include systematic training on sex/gender analysis for national authorities and RFOs, communication campaigns to increase visibility and understanding of sex/gender analysis in R&I, adoption of clear guidelines and inclusion of gender experts in evaluation committees, capacity-building activities to address resistance to gender dimension policies, enhanced cooperation with the European Commission and mutual learning among RFOs to foster a culture of policy evaluation.