Guidelines for Intersectional Analysis in Science and Technology: Implementation and Checklist Development

Guidelines for Intersectional Analysis in Science and Technology: Implementation and Checklist Development

Londa Schiebinger , Matthias Nielsen , Elena Gissi , Shirin Heidari , Richard Horton , Kari Nadeau , Dorothy Ngila , Safiya Noble , Hee Young Paik ,Girmaw Abebe Tadesse , Eddy Y Zheng , James Zou , Joan Marsh

European Science Editing (ESE) – September 3, 2025

Intersectional analysis goes beyond consideration of single variables to examine the compounded impact at the intersections of, for example, gender and race, or geographical location and caste. The Guidelines for Intersectional Analysis in Science and Technology (GIST) help researchers, journal editors, and funding agencies systematically integrate intersectional analysis into relevant domains of science and technology. These guidelines serve as a roadmap for quantitative intersectional analysis throughout the research process—from setting strategic research priorities and shaping research questions to data collection, analysis, and interpretation. Here we provide a checklist to facilitate author and journal editor compliance with the guidelines. We recommend that the GIST checklist be added to journals’ “Information for Authors”. The goal is to reset the research default to include intersectional analysis, where appropriate. Intersectional analysis leads to better science: precision in research best guides effective social and environmental policies that, in turn, enhance global equity and sustainability.

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Partners Meeting on Health Equity and the Right to Health

20 May 2025 | Organizer: Framework Convention on Global Health Alliance and the Alliance for Health Promotion

GENDRO is proud to co-sponsor the WHA78 Partners Meeting on Health Equity and the Right to Health, held at Campus Biotech Innovation Park in Geneva. Co-organized by the Framework Convention on Global Health (FCGH) Alliance and the Alliance for Health Promotion, the event brought together civil society organizations and global health advocates to strengthen collaboration and advance the right to health for all.

Moderated by Dr. Leigh Kamore Haynes (Simmons University / FCGH Alliance), the meeting featured a dynamic exchange on the structural determinants of health inequities and strategies for collective action.

We thank our co-sponsors and all participants for their commitment to building a more equitable future.

A proposed framework for monitoring and evaluating progress at the intersection of women, power, and cancer

A proposed framework for monitoring and evaluating progress at the intersection of women, power, and cancer

Elise M Garton, Gavin Allman, Hyo Sook Bae, Kalina Duncan, Ibithal Fadhil, Nazik Hammad, Shirin Heidari, Meritxell Mallafré-Larrosa, Jennifer Moodley, Rachel Nugent, Isabelle Soerjomataram, Carolyn D Taylor, Karla Unger-Saldaña, Verna Vanderpuye, Ophira Ginsburg.

The Lancet – April 15, 2025

The Lancet Commission on women, power, and cancer,1 hereafter referred to as the Commission, was created to address urgent questions at the intersection of social inequality, cancer risk and outcomes, and the status of women in society. Cancer is an increasingly important public health threat and economic challenge to all people worldwide, but has a disproportionate impact on the lives and livelihoods of women, which creates downstream impacts for society. The Commission applied an intersectional feminist lens2 to inform a nuanced, evidence-based, gendered approach to cancer risk and cancer control in response to this threat. The Commission report was published in September, 2023, with ten key findings and corresponding priority recommendations directed at a broad range of stakeholder communities: international organisations, national and subnational governments, researchers and research funders, civil society, and the private sector.1 To increase the likelihood that the recommendations set out in the Commission will be adopted and operationalised by multiple stakeholders, and to support the uptake of these recommendations, the authors proposed a framework and set of key performance indicators to guide implementation and to increase engagement of the global community at the nexus of gender, power, and cancer.

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Intersectional analysis for science and technology

Intersectional analysis for science and technology

Mathias Wullum Nielsen, Elena Gissi, Shirin Heidari, Richard Horton, Kari C. Nadeau, Dorothy Ngila, Safiya Umoja Noble, Hee Young Paik, Girmaw Abebe Tadesse, Eddy Y. Zeng, James Zou, Londa Schiebinger

Nature – April 9, 2025

Intersectionality describes interdependent systems of inequality related to sex, gender, race, age, class and other socio-political dimensions. By focusing on the compounded effects of social categories, intersectional analysis can enhance the accuracy and experimental efficiency of science. Here we extend intersectional approaches that were predominantly developed in the humanities, social sciences and public health to the fields of natural science and technology, where this type of analysis is less established. Informed by diverse global and disciplinary examples—from enhancing facial recognition for diverse user bases to mitigating the disproportionate impact of climate change on marginalized populations—we extract methods to demonstrate how quantitative intersectional analysis functions throughout the research process, from strategic considerations for establishing research priorities to formulating research questions, collecting and analysing data and interpreting results. Our goal is to offer a set of guidelines for researchers, peer-reviewed journals and funding agencies that facilitate systematic integration of intersectional analysis into relevant domains of science and technology. Precision in research best guides effective social and environmental policy aimed at achieving global equity and sustainability.

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Meeting: A Gender Perspective on Standards for Artificial Intelligence

8 April 2025 | Organizer: The United Nations Economic Commission for Europe (UNECE), Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards

As artificial intelligence (AI) continues to expand rapidly, it is crucial to ensure that the most vulnerable populations are not neglected or rendered further invisible. AI systems, which are increasingly used in decision-making across various sectors such as healthcare, finance, recruitment, and public services, often inherit and amplify historical gender biases present in training data, model design, and algorithmic assumptions. These biases perpetuate systemic disadvantages for women and marginalized gender groups, reinforcing structural inequalities, limiting economic and professional opportunities, and restricting access to essential services.

Welcome

  • Lance Thompson, Head of Regulatory Cooperation Unit, ECTD, ECE [Bio & PPT]
  • Michelle Parkouda, Chair Team of Specialists on Gender-Responsive Standards (ToS-GRS) [Bio & PPT]

Keynote

  • Katrin J. Yuan, CEO Swiss Future Institute and Chair AI Future Council [Bio & PPT]

Panel discussions

Impact of Gender Bias in AI

  • Sergio Scandizzo, Head of Internal Modelling, European Investment Bank (financial services perspective) [Bio & PPT]
  • Shirin Heidari, President GENDRO (healthcare perspective) [Bio & PPT]
  • Costanza Bonadonna, Dean of the Faculty of Science, University of Geneva (hiring process perspective) [Bio & PPT]
  • Claire Somerville, Geneva Graduate Institute, EQUALS-EU Project (digital environment)

How to address gender bias in standards for AI

  • Caitlin Kraft-Buchnan, Women @ the Table [Bio & PPT]
  • Cristina Finch, Head Gender and Security Division, Geneva Center for Security Sector Governance (DCAF) [Bio & PPT]
  • Ana Martin, WFUNA [Bio & PPT]

Concluding remarks and wrap up

  • Michelle Parkouda, Chair ToS-GRS

Register here