GENDER IN THE CONTENT OF RESEARCHAND INNOVATION

Why is it necessary to address the gender dimension in the content of research and innovation?

Research and innovation have a significant impact on society and quality of life. However, the results of research and innovation do not always benefit women and men equally, and other social groups are sometimes neglected as well. There are a number of cases where an implicit focus on male users, an omission of possible physical differences between men and women, as well as their different experiences and needs, has resulted in research results with limited validity or products that are less relevant or safe for women. A gender-blind approach to research and innovation can generally lead to the inefficient use of public funds, frustrated investment, missed market opportunities and unintended health risks.

How does TA CR support the integration of the gender dimension in research content?

Following the example of international research funders, TA CR requires applicants in selected calls to consider whether it is relevant for their research to take into account the role of sex and/or gender. If sex and/or gender is considered relevant, applicants must also indicate how this perspective will be incorporated into the research design, its results, and their intended application. The requirement to integrate the gender dimension was first applied in ZÉTA and ÉTA programmes.

Further information on the gender dimension in research content and on how to integrate it into projects is provided in the guidelines for applicants and evaluators:

Guideline for the SIGMA programme (2024)
Guideline for the 5th call for proposals under the ÉTA programme (2020, in Czech only)
Guideline for the 4^th call for proposals under the ZÉTA programme (2019)

Gender dimension in different areas of research and development – videos from the GEECCO project

Humans & Computers

Robots in our Society

Energy for all

Mobility for all

Inclusive design – why intersectionality matters

Exhibition: Integration of gender dimension in the content of research and innovation

The following set of posters highlights the importance of integrating the gender dimension into research and innovation. Using specific examples from the fields of energy, medicine, robotics, transport or information technology, the posters show that taking into account the role of sex and gender in research practice leads to safer and more relevant research results.

The posters have been created as part of the GEECCO project by partners from the Technische Universität Wien

The complete exhibition can be viewed HERE.

GENDER-NET Plus

The main objective of the GENDER-NET Plus ERA-NET Cofund project is to support projects with a gender dimension through a joint international call launched by European providers who are part of the project consortium. In addition, the consortium is engaged in other activities to support gender mainstreaming in research and institutional changes to ensure gender equality.

More information on the supported projects can be found HERE

TIP for calls

It is useful to consider the role of the gender dimension in a project whenever the research deals with people, when its output is to be used by people or have any impact on them. Although the consideration of gender dimension may not seem relevant at a first glance in many technical or natural science research projects, the gender dimension can play a role in many less obvious aspects, for example, in the handling force, design or safety features of prototypes and function samples, in product marketing, but also in the use of human tissues, male or female, in the research process.

If you consider that the integration of the gender dimension into the project methodology would be useful in terms of research impacts, do so even in calls where this aspect is not part of the evaluation criteria. It is relevant for the quality of the research plan and for maximizing the exploitation potential and social relevance of research supported from public sources.

In particular, it is always necessary to pose the question whether gender-blind research questions, methodologies and thinking about research impacts do not stand in the way to new findings, market opportunities or a higher quality of life.