Sex and Gender Analysis Policies of Major Granting Agencies

International, national, public, and private granting organizations require sex, gender, and intersectional analysis. Grantees may be required to address how their projects will promote:

• •Gender, race/ethnicity, and inclusivity in employment, decision-making, etc. (fixing the numbers).  
• • Removing institutional barriers to inclusivity (fixing the institutions).
• • Integrating sex, gender, and intersectional analysis as a resource to create new knowledge and technologies (fixing the knowledge). The funding agencies listed below require that sex and gender analysis be integrated into the design of research, where relevant. Applicants are asked to explain how sex and gender analysis will be incorporated into all phases of basic and applied research, where applicable. Such policies ensure that researchers consider these factors as they conceptualize research.
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  Organization	Policy to:	Policy to:	Policy to:	Policy to Integrate Gender Analysis into Research	Date
  Austrian Research Promotion Agency (FFG)	Yes	Yes	Yes	FFG: Forschungsförderungsgesellschaft) manages specific funding programmes, financed by its owner ministries, considering gender aspects on different levels. Since 2009, the FFG has funded RTI projects that are required to integrate gender aspects in research content. FEMtech Research Projects (part of the "Talents" initiative) started 2011 as a direct continuation of the "FEMtech RTI Projects" and initiate and support projects with an emphasis on gender-specific needs and demands. Men and women are taken into consideration throughout the development of technologies and products. FEMtech Research Projects aim to increase the level of interest among scientists related to "gender" issues when developing and carrying out research projects, with a view to improving the quality and capability of solutions, products, and technologies to meet the need of all customers. As a measure of gender mainstreaming FFG's evaluation criteria (p. 12) include three elements related to gender for all proposals: gender analysis in the research (has gender been taken into consideration?), gender equality in team participation (are teams gender balanced?), and gender-equal benefits to users (do products work equally well for women, men, and gender-diverse individuals?). This requires including gender analyses in proposals submitted for funding with reference to these three criteria.	2009
  Austrian Science Fund (FWF: Fonds zur Förderung der wissenschaftlichen Forschung)	Yes	Yes	Yes	"In the context of research design, gender-sensitive research examines how gender is integrated into scholarly/scientific knowledge and whether gender is systematically taken into account in the development of knowledge. This gives rise to higher-quality research results which systematically account for specific differences and needs. At the same time, gender-sensitive research also supports the development and more precise definition of scholarly questions and, thanks to its differentiated approach, serves a larger group of people in the development of their own scholarly agendas" Fix the knowledge with regard to gender in scientific research (includes checklist and resources for creating gender-sensitive research). Beginning 1 January 2019, every programme across all of FWF will integrate the guidelines below in their call for proposals: "All potential sex- and gender-related aspects in the planned project as well as the planned implementation of these research questions must be described in a separate section. This aspect should be addressed briefly in the text even if the applicant believes the project does not raise any sex- or gender-related issues."	2019
  Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR)	Yes	Yes	Yes	CIHR expects grant applicants will integrate sex and gender analysis into their research when appropriate. Mandatory requirement for applicants to report how sex and/or gender will be accounted for in the research protocol, or justify their exclusion. CIHR strongly encourages appropriate consideration for all investigator-initiated and strategic programs. See: Sex, Gender and Health Research; Mandatory requirement to include a Sex and Gender Champion on select strategic initiatives. See: Sex and Gender Champions Release of 3 online training modules for integrating sex and gender in biomedical research; primary data collection with humans; and the analysis of data from human participants. Completion of the training modules becomes mandatory for select strategic funding competitions. CIHR launches its Sex and Gender-based Analysis in Research Action Plan. Structural changes are made to CIHR's peer review assessment forms to rate applicants' integration of sex and gender as a strength or weakness of the proposal, and to provide recommendations for improvement. See Key considerations for the appropriate integration of sex and gender in research; Criteria for Integration of Sex & Gender— Biomedical Research; See a 4.5 minute video on peer review: Assessing Sex and Gender Integration in Peer Review.	2006     2010         2014         2015         2018
  Dutch Ministry of Health, Wellbeing, and Sports	Yes	Yes	Yes	The Dutch Ministry of Health, Wellbeing, and Sports has financed a Gender & Health program (2016-2020) with a budget of 12 million euros, implemented by ZonMw (The Netherlands Organisation for Health Research and Development) to foster a sex- and gender-sensitive approach to health and disease in research, education, and care practices. Applicants are asked to: 1. describe a research objective, research aim, and research question explicitly linked to sex and gender analysis. 2. justify how you define and operationalize sex and/or gender within your research project and your theoretical framework. 3. describe the expected outcomes of your research disaggregated by sex and/or related to gender. 4. indicate how much and in what way previous research has taken sex and/or gender aspects into account with respect to your research topic. Please show what clues or evidence towards sex- and/or gender-related factors this suggests for your proposed research. This program stretches across twelve health themes - general care, participation, diabetes, medicines, cardiovascular diseases, physical and family violence, migraine, psychological and psychiatric disorders, rheumatic diseases, unexplained somatic complaints, aging, and women-specific and sexual disorders.	2016
  European Commission Directorate-General for Research and Innovation	Yes	Yes	Yes	Since 2003, the European Commission has supported "questioning systematically whether, and in what sense, sex and gender are relevant in the objectives and in the methodology of projects." In 2014, these policies were reaffirmed and expanded in Horizon 2020. In the proposal template, under "concept and approach," applicants were asked, "Where relevant, describe how sex and/or gender analysis is taken into account in the project's content." These policies have been validated and strengthened in Horizon Europe. The Horizon Europe Strategic Plan 2021-2024 states: “the integration of the gender dimension will be a requirement by default in research and innovation content across the whole programme, unless its nonrelevance is duly justified.” To support this new policy, the EC published: Gendered Innovations 2: How Inclusive Analysis Contributes to Research and Innovation (Luxembourg: Publications Office of the European Union, 2020).	2003; 2014; 2020
  French National Research Agency (Agence nationale de la recherche)	Yes	Yes	Initiatives	Requires all applicants to indicate whether there is a sex and/or gender dimension to their research, and, if so, to outline how sex/gender analysis will be integrated in the design, implementation, evaluation, interpretation and dissemination of the results. Provides guidance and training for peer-review assessors for evaluation in this area.	2019
  Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation: Agricultural Development Grants	Yes	Yes	Yes	"[…] representation by sex alone does not ensure that women's or men's priorities will be taken into account. We are also willing to provide the needed support, tools and resources to appropriately inform, shape, train, and support the inclusion of gender in our work (Gates Foundation, 2008). The Gates Foundation does not support grant proposals for agricultural development that do not account for gender differences and do not consider how agricultural initiatives may benefit or hinder women or men (Gates Foundation, 2013). See also Melinda French Gates, “Putting Women and Girls at the Center of Development,” Science 345 no. 6202 (2014): 1273-1275.	2012
  German Research Foundation (Deutsche Forschungsgemeinschaft)	Yes	Yes	No	DFG Proposal Preparation Instructions. Relevance of sex, gender and diversity: Where applicable, please describe whether and to what extent sex and/or gender • of researchers • of persons under study • of individuals affected by the implementation of research results • of animals under study • with regard to samples taken from humans or animals • in other respects is relevant to the research project (methods, work programme, objectives, etc.). Where applicable, please also describe whether and to what extent diversity in terms of, for example, the state of health, ethnic background or culture of • researchers • persons under study • individuals affected by the implementation of research results • or diversity in other respects may be significant for the research project (methods, work programme, objectives, etc.). Please explain to what extent these or similar considerations may also be relevant to animals under study or samples taken from humans or animals. See website and guidance.	2020
  Irish Research Council	Yes	Yes	Yes	The Irish Research Council 2013-2020 Gender Strategy & Action Plan: 1. requires all applicants to indicate whether there is a sex and/or gender dimension to their research, and, if so, to outline how sex/gender analysis will be integrated in the design, implementation, evaluation, interpretation and dissemination of the results. 2. facilitates researchers to correctly identify and recognise a potential gender dimension in their proposed research through the provision of reference materials and training sessions. 3. provides guidance and training for Irish-based researchers in this area. 4. provides guidance and training for Council peer-review assessors for evaluation in this area. 5. reviews and monitors funded proposals	2013
  Korean National Research Foundation	Yes	Yes	Policy	Policy for the National Research Foundation, the Republic of Korea, is guided by the National Assembly. In 2021, an amended Framework Act on Science and Technology was put into effect that includes sex and gender analysis in research design in the following Articles: 1. Article 7, 15.4 Master Plans for Science and Technology. To achieve the goals of the Framework Act on Science and Technology, the government shall establish mid- and long-term policy goals…that promote social value, such as sex and gender. 2. Article 14 Technology Assessment and Evaluation. When conducting a technology impact assessment, the government should ensure that characteristics, such as sex/gender, are taken into account. 3. Article 26-2 Surveys and Analysis of Scientific and Technological Statistics and Indexes. When investigating and analyzing science and technology statistics and indicators, the government should consider factors, such as sex/gender.	2021
  Research Council of Norway (Norges forskningsråd)	Yes	Yes	Yes	"Good research must take into account biological and social differences between women and men, and the gender dimension should be one of the main pillars of the development of new knowledge. In research projects this dimension may be manifested through the research questions addressed, the theoretical approaches chosen, the methodology applied, and in the efforts to assess whether the research results will have different implications for women and men." "The Research Council will strengthen the knowledge base on gender perspectives for use in research and innovation policy" and "assess the relevance of gender perspectives in all application assessment." Gender Balance and Gender Perspectives in Research and Innovation	2013
  Spanish Ministry of Science and Innovation and Universities (Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación y Universidades)	Yes	Yes	Yes	"The Spanish Strategy for Science, Technology and Innovation (EESTI) (2013-2020) … includes the mainstreaming of gender among its basic principles, pointing at the participation of women in all scientific fields and the incorporation of gender issues in research content and methodology." More on the policy can be found here.	Science, Technology and Innovation Law 2011; EESTI 2013
  UK Research and Innovation	Yes	Yes	Yes	All Official Development Assistance (ODA) funds must comply with the requirements of the International Development (Gender Equality) Act 2014 with states, the "desirability of providing development assistance that is likely to contribute to reducing poverty in a way which is likely to contribute to reducing inequalities between persons of different gender." Since April 2019, UKRI has added additional compliance policies to their ODA funds, to ensure that the gender dimension has been considered in different parts of the research and innovation lifecycle, such as: The call/competition development, call documents, research team, and assessment panel. UKRI provides guidance and training for external assessors. As this is a new policy, UKRI envisages that lessons learned from the implementation of this policy will enable consideration of the gender dimension across other areas of UKRI funding. More information on the policy can be found here: Gender Equality and International Development Research and Innovation	2019
  U.S. National Institutes of Health (NIH)	Yes	Yes	Yes	NIH expects that sex as a biological variable will be factored into research designs, analyses, and reporting in vertebrate animal and human studies. Strong justification from the scientific literature, preliminary data, or other relevant considerations must be provided for applications proposing to study only one sex. Investigators are strongly encouraged to discuss these issues with NIH program staff prior to submission of applications. See: Consideration of Sex as a Biological Variable in NIH-funded Research; Enhancing Reproducibility through Rigor and Transparency. Guidance is provided in: Clayton, J. A. (2015). Studying both sexes: a guiding principle for biomedicine. The FASEB Journal, 30(2), 519-524. NIH Guidelines and training Release of SABV Primer, consisting of four, interactive courses: • SABV and the Health of Women and Men • SABV and Experimental Design • SABV and Analysis • SABV and Research Reporting NIH does not have guidelines for considering gender as a sociocultural variable in research design.	2016
  U.S. National Science Foundation (NSF)	Yes	Yes	No	NSF's proposal and award policies do not request integrating sex/gender analysis into the design of research.
  World Health Organization (WHO)	Yes	Yes	Yes	"[…] in line with its long-standing concern with health equity WHO will, as a matter of policy and good public health practice, integrate gender considerations in all facets of its work. It will be the Organization's policy to ensure that all research, policies, programmes, projects, and initiatives with WHO involvement address gender issues" WHO Gender Policy, 2002. In 2007, the World Health Assembly endorsed WHO's gender policy and urged member states to formulate national policies for address gender in health research.	2002