Fixing innovation culture through gender equality and inclusion
Over the past two decades, the European Union has strengthened its commitment to gender equality and inclusiveness in research and innovation (R&I) not only in relation to technological excellence but also through addressing complex societal challenges that effect ‘Europe's long-term prosperity’. For example, gender equality is a cross-cutting priority in the key innovation programmes such as Horizon 2020, Horizon Europe and the renewed European Research Area. In funding applications, gender related factors in the proposed research have to be explicitly considered and participating higher educational institutions are required to have a Gender Equality Plan. This early and systematic integration of gender equality in research evidences a real intent to implement a more inclusive model of innovation policy.
Within this framework, gender equality and diversity are increasingly recognised as a fundamental value as well as a productive asset. However, critical scholars have called into question the assumption that growth-driven R&I automatically leads to prosperity and social well-being. The primary focus of innovation policies on competitiveness and market expansion may reinforce existing inequalities since structural barriers to participation can be overlooked, particularly for women and marginalised groups. Research has demonstrated a sound ‘business case’ for gender equality and diversity – showing, for instance, that gender-diverse teams generate more creative and socially responsive solutions. This should be complemented by considering and addressing institutional biases. A gender-just innovation agenda, in fact, requires rethinking the goals, processes and values underpinning innovation itself. In this respect, the recent evolution of the relevant European Union policy architecture reflects both ambition and responsiveness.
A foundational milestone in this evolution was the Gendered Innovations project, funded by the European Union in 2009 and coordinated by Stanford University. This initiative was the first to systematically integrate a gender perspective into R&I policies at the European level. It offered both a conceptual and methodological innovative framework and demonstrated, through the discussion of case studies, how sex, gender and intersectional analysis can enhance the robustness, reliability and relevance of research and innovation for the whole society. It highlighted that needs, behaviours and attitudes are gendered and that they in turn shape scientific inquiry and technological development. The project concluded that accounting for the gender dimensions in innovation is the best way to address them across disciplines and sectors.
Central to the project were three well-known strategic approaches that allow the building of a gender-responsive innovation system: ‘Fix the Numbers’, aimed at increasing the participation of women and underrepresented groups; ‘Fix the Institutions’, aimed at targeting structural change to promote inclusive career pathways; and ‘Fix the Knowledge’, aimed at integrating gender and intersectional analysis into research design and outputs. Together, the three dimensions prepare the ground for an equitable innovation agenda.
Yet, despite academic progress and institutional efforts, substantial gaps remain. The connection between gender equality policy and innovation is still difficult. Women’s specific needs in innovation contexts are still frequently overlooked, and gender differences are rarely treated as meaningful variables in defining research questions, funding priorities or innovation processes. Stakeholders from the gender equality arena increasingly engage with concepts of innovation, but actors in the innovation system often remain unaware of, or resist, the integration of gender perspectives.
As already described in Breaking the barriers: gender, culture and diversity in innovation and entrepreneurship, the Gendered Innovation Living Labs (GILL) project seeks to address this disconnection through the addition of ‘cultural fix’ to the Gendered Innovations framework. The cultural fix addresses the norms, values and power relations within innovation ecosystems to support radical transformations and addressing gender stereotypes. It emphasises the need to align innovation goals and practices with the principles of justice and inclusivity. In the context of a backlash against gender equality, diversity and inclusion, such a reorientation is pivotal.
This text is an extract from Breaking the barriers: gender, culture and diversity in innovation and entrepreneurship (De Gruyter, 2026). The volume draws on insights from the Gendered Innovation Living Labs (GILL) project.
