Gender impact assessment

Gender impact assessment is, according to the European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), “an ex-ante evaluation, analysis or assessment of a law, policy or programme that makes it possible to identify, in a preventative way, the likelihood of a given decision having negative consequences for the state of equality between women and men”. Gender/sex and diversity dimensions should be considered at every step of the research process, i.e., research design, data collection, and reporting/disseminating research results. Scholars engaged in the project RESET: Redesigning Equality and Scientific Excellence Together (Horizon 2020, 2021-2024) understand GIA as a tool “determines the degree of sex and gender responsibility of a research proposal. GIA questions, analyses, sensitises and integrates sex and gender into research process where appropriate”. So, GIA does not only contribute to the success of research projects, teams, and organisations but also advances science and society at large toward a more inclusive, fair, and diverse direction. Additionally, “the sex and gender dimensions bring the added value to research in terms of excellence, rigor, reproducibility, creativity, and business opportunities. With such dimensions, the ultimate goal is to enhance the societal relevance of and push for responsible research and innovation (RRI)”. RESET GIA tool takes into consideration three areas of research: excellence (planning phase), implementation (execution phase), and impact (dissemination phase). The latter also includes questions on the societal effects of research. 
 

Source: European Institute for Gender Equality (EIGE), “Gender Impact Assessment”, https://eige.europa.eu/gender-mainstreaming/toolkits/gender-impact-assessment/what-gender-impact-assessment; RESET “GIA checklist and protocol” 2021, https://wereset.eu/deliverables/gia-checklist-and-protocol-in-all-project-languages/; RESET “GIA checklist for research proposals” https://wereset.eu/gia-checklist-for-research-proposals/