Sex and gender analysis for better science and health equity

Abstract

Despite growing recognition of the imperative to address gender disparities and inequity in health, researchers, funders, and editors do not treat the gendered aspects of health research and practice as a priority. It is unacceptable that members of the scientific community, who are putatively committed to rigour and objectivity, undervalue the importance of the gender bias in academic research and neglect to act. Is this because gender has become equated with feminism, which some argue has no place in science? 1 Howes M Managing Salience: the Importance of intellectual virtue in analyses of biased scientific reasoning. Hypatia. 2012; 27: 736-754 Crossref Scopus (6) Google Scholar Is it a reflection of the long-standing marginalisation of women in medical research where they have been the subjects of attention mainly in matters relating to reproduction? Or it is that, historically, science has been built around a hierarchical and androcentric logic, whereby the white male body is the gold standard against which all else is measured?