The Knowledge Foundation strives for equality between women and men being considered in the projects we fund. This applies both to the scientific content of the project and to how the project team is composed. It may involve including gender-related aspects in methods, selection processes and analyses, as well as ensuring a balanced and relevant mix of people in the project group.
Gender equality perspective
Integration of a gender equality perspective means an added value for research and innovation. It helps researchers to question gender norms and stereotypes and leads to a deeper understanding of needs, attitudes, and behaviours of both women and men. To include such a perspective enhances the societal relevance of knowledge, technologies and innovations produced.
Therefore, the Knowledge Foundation sees the inclusion of a relevant gender equality perspective as a part of the continuously ongoing work to ensure and strengthen quality, renewal, and relevance of funded projects.
Scientific content and project design
A gender equality perspective in the project’s scientific content and design means that gender and sex – when relevant – are considered throughout the project’s planning and implementation. This includes both social and biological aspects of sex and gender identity, for example in the project’s methods, selection processes, analyses, and results. This perspective does not need to be the main focus of the project, but it should be actively and systematically integrated throughout its duration.
The Knowledge Foundation funds projects within all subject areas, and each project is unique. Therefore, applicants are expected to describe whether and how gender and sex perspectives are relevant to their specific project, and if so, in what way these are included. In the Knowledge Foundation’s calls for proposals, gender equality in the project’s scientific content and design is highlighted under the assessment criterion Scientific quality.
Definitions
Sex is a concept used to describe the division of individuals based on biological characteristics such as women, men, girls, boys, males, and females. A sex perspective could, for example, mean including both women and men in the selection of study objects, and to study the differences between them.
Gender is a concept used to distinguish socially and culturally constructed expectations and norms that form behaviour and attitudes of women and men. To include a gender perspective could for example mean to problematise and reflect on how prevailing perceptions of gender affect the interpretation of the project’s results.
Project organisation
The Knowledge Foundation also aims to promote a balanced and relevant representation of women and men in project staffing. This means that all individuals involved in the project – from academia, the business sector and other partners – should be as evenly distributed as possible between women and men, considering the specific conditions of the subject area. This applies not only to participation, but also to the level of responsibility and influence each person has within the project.
In the application, the project manager must describe how the balance between women and men and their respective project roles have been considered when forming the project group. This gender equality perspective is highlighted under the assessment criterion Implementation in the KKnowledge Foundation’s calls for proposals.