Press Release: Workshop Highlights Need for Responsive Research Evaluation to Address Gender Inequality in Academia

TWIN4MERIT Members from UCY to Present at the 2024 Conference “Gender and Research Assessment: Proposing a Move from ‘Responsible’ to ‘Responsive’”
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TWIN4MERIT Members from UCY to Present at the 2024 Conference “Gender and Research Assessment: Proposing a Move from ‘Responsible’ to ‘Responsive’”
October 21, 2024
Training session on Meta-analysis and Meta-data
November 13, 2024

Press Release: Workshop Highlights Need for Responsive Research Evaluation to Address Gender Inequality in Academia

On 29 October, Universidad Carlos III de Madrid (UC3M) hosted an impactful workshop titled “Moving from ‘Excellence’ to ‘Responsibility’ and Reclaiming Research that is ‘Responsive’” on the Getafe Campus. Organized by UC3M’s OpenScienceLab and the TWIN4MERIT project, the event addressed ongoing gender disparities in academic metrics and evaluation systems, calling for transformative change in research assessment practices.

The workshop explored the gender biases inherent in traditional journal metrics—such as citation counts and impact factors—which often disadvantage female researchers and hinder career advancement, funding opportunities, and publication visibility. Despite the emergence of initiatives for “Responsible Research Assessment,” including the Declaration on Research Assessment (DORA) and The Leiden Manifesto, many of these reforms fall short of addressing the systemic gender biases embedded in academic evaluation. The event introduced a conceptual shift to “responsive research evaluation” as a promising alternative, proposing an evaluation framework that prioritizes inclusivity, representation, and the recognition of women and other marginalized groups.

The workshop was led by esteemed guest speakers from the University of Cyprus, both members of the TWIN4MERIT project team. Dr Alexia Panayiotou, UNESCO Co-Chair in Gender Equality and Associate Professor of Management and Organisation Studies, shared insights from her extensive research in critical management, gender studies, and feminist organisational analysis, highlighting inherent gender biases within the supposedly objective notion of “excellence”. Dr Kyriaki Kourra, a Research Associate at the Department of Business and Public Administration, further evaluated existing “responsible” initiatives through this lens, revealing how such biases shape academic standards and practices in business and economics. Both Dr. Panayiotou and Dr. Kourra, presented findings from their collaborative work on TWIN4MERIT.

 

 

Key discussion points included:

• The distinctions between traditional, responsible, and responsive evaluation approaches.
• How even responsible research assessment initiatives can inadvertently reinforce gender biases.
• The need for evaluation frameworks that genuinely integrate gender equality on a systemic level, including examples of what this might look like in practice.

Significantly, Dr. Panayiotou’s address delved into the implications of gender bias in academic evaluations, emphasizing the importance of meaningful, socially impactful change. Building on this theme, Dr. Kourra presented her findings on the structural barriers facing female researchers in academia, and the importance of responsive research evaluation practices in overcoming these challenges. Together, both speakers underscored the lack or limitations of existing gender equality measures in research evaluation and urged attendees to adopt practices that support fair and inclusive academic environments.

The workshop concluded with an engaging Q&A session, leaving attendees with actionable insights into creating a more equitable future for academia. This session, along with an additional seminar on the same subject, which was open to the wider university community (and found here: https://media.uc3m.es/video/6728bbf99ab8c9566318aa72), are part of the ongoing TWIN4MERIT project. The project receives funding from the European Union’s Horizon Europe research and innovation programme under the grant agreement No. 101079196 and seeks to drive systemic change in academic evaluation.

Contact: Department of Library and Information Science
Universidad Carlos III de Madrid
OpenScienceLab
Email: [email protected]
Website: UC3M OpenScienceLab