Sex and Gender Perspectives as Quality? On the Controversy About Gender and Science in the Swedish Research Debate

Abstract

ABSTRACT In a 2016 bill, the Swedish government tasked state-governed research councils with incorporating sex and gender perspectives (SGP) into their assessment of research quality. The present article examines the response to the bill and subsequent measures in Swedish public debate from 2016–2021, as well as justifications for such measures in preceding policy documents. The analysis focuses on how different arguments in the debate articulate the relationship between research, politics, and quality and how these articulations can be analysed with the help of theoretical perspectives on the contemporary production of knowledge as well as previous scholarly work on gender mainstreaming. The article demonstrates that most critics describe politics, research, and quality as incompatible. The defenders argue for the implementation of SGP by invoking either a quality perspective and/or an equality perspective. While some actors argue that SGP is of significance only when it enhances quality, others point to the political value of the criteria, adhering to a post-academic emphasis on the societal value of science.