Gender as an Innovation Potential in Research and Development

Between 2003 and 2006, the EAF, in cooperation with the Fraunhofer Society, conducted a project on gender aspects in research. The results were published in the final report.

The success of research and innovation depends to a large extent on how new ideas and products perform among customers. Under the conditions of globalization, markets are changing rapidly in some areas, but other societal developments are also influencing and accelerating this change. This includes, not least, the shift in gender relations taking place in all major industrialized nations. As confident consumers, as well as managers, entrepreneurs, scientists, and researchers, women will shape societal developments much more strongly than before.

The contributions in this volume demonstrate how important the systematic consideration of gender aspects is for the quality, relevance, and acceptance of products and technologies. What tools and methodologies can be used to identify, evaluate, and integrate gender aspects into planning during the various phases of the research and innovation process? What arguments and communication strategies can be used to engage researchers with this issue? The volume contains both theoretical contributions on the concept of gender mainstreaming in the context of research organizations and numerous practical examples of implementation.

Further information

Schraudner, Martina; Lukoschat, Helga (2006):
Gender as an Innovation Potential in Research and Development. Munich: Fraunhofer IRB Verlag.