Gendered Innovations' is defined as the process that integrates sex and gender analysis into all phases of basic and applied research to assure excellence and quality in outcomes. Gendered Innovations enhance excellence in science, medicine, and engineering both in terms of knowledge and personnel; they lead to gender-responsible science and technology, and seek to enhance the lives of women and men globally. This paper presents three approaches to gender equality taken by policy makers, institutional administrators, and scientists and engineers over the past three decades. These approaches include: 1) fixing the numbers of women in science, medicine, and engineering; 2) fixing research institutions by removing barriers and transforming structures; 3) fixing knowledge by incorporating gender analysis into basic and applied research. This paper treats each of these approaches but focuses on the third approach -'Gendered Innovations' -by presenting concrete examples of how gender analysis has enhanced scientific knowledge and technology design. Realizing the full potential of gendered innovations in the next decade will require deep interdisciplinary collaborations between gender experts, natural scientists, and engineers. Realizing the full potential of gendered innovations will also require international coordination, as recommended in
Purpose
– Knowledge and technology transfer (KTT) and particularly academic entrepreneurship (Klofsten and Jones-Evans, 2000) are indispensable for economic growth and wealth creation. In many European countries including Germany, substantially fewer women than men participate in KTT. Recently, decision makers from scientific, political, and commercial organisations have increased their attention to the gender dimension (e.g. Moser, 2007; Schiebinger, 2013). The purpose of this paper is to evaluate in what ways and to what degree gender is currently integrated in German KTT.
Design/methodology/approach
– By following an abductive approach (Suddaby, 2006) and building upon existing models (Klofsten and Jones-Evans, 2000; Carlsson et al., 2002; Lundvall, 2010), the authors developed an analytical framework for evaluating the position of the gender dimension in KTT, conducted a comprehensive literature review, and 22 key informant interviews.
Findings
– The findings indicate that the gender dimension is barely integrated in German KTT, which particularly manifests itself through the fact that there are fewer than 10 per cent women among academic entrepreneurs. Current organisational practices and attitudes of decision makers continue to reinforce traditional gender roles and “typically male” approaches and behaviours (Connell, 2005; Redien-Collot, 2009).
Originality/value
– The authors were the first to synthesise a variety of sources into one unified framework and to rigorously analyse the gender dimension in German KTT – both quantitatively and qualitatively and on different levels. This framework can help decisions makers, both in- and outside of Germany, re-envision KTT practices, and create new opportunities for its diverse participants.
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