SAGER guidelines

The Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) guidelines represent a pivotal shift in how we approach research design, implementation, and communication.  

Following her election in the council of the European Association of Science Editors (EASE), Dr. Shirin Heidari established the EASE Gender Policy Committee (GPC) in 2012 and embarked on a collaborative journey toward addressing the oversight of sex and gender differences in scientific endeavors. 

The EASE GPC, co-chaired by Dr. Shirin Heidari and Dr Thomas Babor, benefitting from the membership of several dedicated experts, editors, science communicators and researcher, embarked on a mission to promote integration of sex and gender in scientific publishing, recognizing the need for consistent reporting of sex and gender-specific data. Following a consultative process, this commitment materialized with the launch of the SAGER guidelines in 2016.   

The ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research: rationale for the SAGER guidelines and recommended use’ laid the groundwork for an international set of guidelines that encourage a systematic approach to reporting sex and gender across disciplines, offering a comprehensive tool designed for researchers, authors, and editors to seamlessly integrate sex and gender dimensions into research reporting. 

Since their inception, the SAGER guidelines have evolved under the dedicated leadership of Dr. Heidari, who led the SAGER Working Group since, focusing on dissemination and promotion of the SAGER guidelines, resulting in widespread recognition and growing endorsement from all major academic publishers and increasing number of organizations such as COPE, CIHR-IGH, FIND and more recently, the World Health Organization. 

In 2023, EASE Gender Policy Committee concluded its mission in 2023 and the ongoing promotion and expansion of this critical work continues under the auspices of GENDRO, with continued collaboration with EASE and other partners.  

The SAGER Guidelines, now widely recognized, are included in the EQUATOR website and listed in the Research Reporting Guidelines of the US National Library of Medicine. The SAGER guidelines have been translated by the research community and editors societies into several languages.  

The SAGER Guidelines are available in seven languages

More information:

Check list: https://doi.org/10.3897/ese.2022.e86910 

Link to researcher academy: https://researcheracademy.elsevier.com/research-preparation/sex-gender-equity-research-sager-guidelines 

TEDx about SAGER: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sS4_dYHrX4I  

Achivements: https://ease.org.uk/communities/gender-policy-committee/achievements/