Gender Equity and Institutional Policies: The Impact of Spain’s ‘Knowledge Transfer & Innovation Sexennium’ Program on Academic Careers

Academic evaluation policies play a critical role in shaping career progression, and the design of such frameworks often has unintended consequences for gender equality. This paper critically examines Spain's " Knowledge Transfer & Innovation Sexennium" initiative, a public policy designed to assess knowledge transfer (KT) activities in academic careers. Through an institutional and policy-focused lens, this study highlights how academic evaluation frameworks can unintentionally reinforce or intensify existing gender biases, particularly in the context of KT activities, which are central to universities' third mission.

The analysis draws on data from the 2018 pilot call of the " Knowledge Transfer & Innovation Sexennium" offering empirical evidence of gender success rates across various scientific fields. It addresses both vertical (career-stage) and horizontal (discipline-based) forms of discrimination, providing a detailed account of how KT policies intersect with broader social, economic, and institutional factors to shape academic careers and societal outcomes.

By investigating the institutional structures and stakeholder agendas shaping these evaluation policies, this paper contributes to a larger discussion on the role of public policies in promoting gender equity within science and innovation systems. It argues that addressing gender biases in KT assessments is essential for achieving genuine equity and sustainability in academic institutions.

In conclusion, the paper calls for the integration of a gender perspective into the design and implementation of institutional frameworks that guide knowledge transfer policies. By doing so, it seeks to enhance the capacity of universities to fulfill their broader social missions, ensuring that ST&I policies contribute to a more equitable academic system and, by extension, society.