The gender perspective in research

Science, like any other field of human activity, is not free from the cultural and social conditioning that support the development of stereotypes and biases. In many fields of knowledge, from humanities to medicine, or engineering, the sex variable and the gender dimension are still not sufficiently considered. There is serious risk that “neutral” research and innovation, being sex and/or gender blind, may have biased results that affect women and men differently by not considering their diversity.

Awareness of this reality is increasingly permeating national and European projects’ calls.It is an objective of the European Commission that the gender dimension be fully integrated into Horizon Europe research projects, and the European Research Area considers it a priority that gender equality and gender mainstreaming be integrated into research as well. Similarly, gender equality in marine research is a requirement set by the UN in the framework of the Decade of Ocean Sciences for Sustainable Development.

Gender equality in research implies a qualitative improvement of women's participation in teams at all levels, while providing gender-sensitive and intersectional working conditions. Gender mainstreaming in research implies that gender is considered as a key explanatory variable itself.  If relevant gender issues are not considered or are addressed in a superficial manner, research results can be biased and potentially partial. Gender is therefore an important factor in research excellence. Considering sex differences and including the gender dimension in research has been demonstrated to improve the quality, rigour, reproducibility and creativity of research, enhance the social relevance of research and innovation, and promote wider application of research results to the population.

While gender mainstreaming in marine research is not always an easy task, as gender issues do not have a direct or obvious application in this area, it is important to address the social context that frames the research and the possible differentiated impact between women and men. Although many of the research activities carried out by the ICM may be considered gender-neutral, in some others this dimension should be considered as, for instance, in the use of marine resources, or the realization that changes in ecosystems may affect women and men differently, so gender-sensitive analysis in research projects could address this impact.

However, even when our research does not involve human subjects and its direct results do not involve a social dimension potentially influenced or gender-biased by users, gender-sensitive actions can be considered while performing research.

Thus, the gender perspective should be considered in all phases of the research. For example, in the definition of research questions and objectives; in the use of theories and methodologies; in considering who designs the research and who will benefit from the project and its results; in the process of project design and management, which team members are involved in managing and overseeing the process, including the dissemination of results; who participates in the project’s communication and whether the use of inclusive language is respected in dissemination campaigns.

But how can we include a gender perspective in our research? As part of the actions of the Equality Plan, we intend to carry out case studies focusing on research projects in order to assess the possibilities of incorporating the gender dimension and the sex variable in them. As a preliminary step, we have created a repository of good practices that will allow us to generate our own methodology which will guide the incorporation of the gender dimension in our marine research projects.

The ICM has taken important steps in terms of equality between women and men, but this challenge is still pending. Research must also be gender-sensitive and gender-responsive, or it will fall short of being considered excellent.