Bringing a Gender Lens to the Production of Science and Technology: The Impact on the Sustainable Development Goals.

The discussion on the presence of women in science, technology and innovation is not a new one. For the last three decades, the need to include women in the scientific arena was the subject of a large body of research and analysis, both in academia and in the international organizations. The recent approval by the UN of the Sustainable Development Goals brings, however, this discussion to a new level. Although more gender aware than the previous Millennium Development Goals, with SDG 5 and its nine targets dedicated to achieving greater gender equality and empowerment of women, the other SDGS and their more than 100 targets do not recognize the special needs of women and girls and the essential science based knowledge needed for their implementation. Recent evidence, however, clearly indicates that gender inequality issues cannot be separated from actions to tackle poverty, hunger, poor health and well-being, maternal health, climate change adaptation, energy and environmental burdens, economic hardships, and societal insecurity, and that a gender lens on science and science education can enhance the success of the implementation measures. This paper will look at the latest research findings on how central it is to bring a gender lens to research and what are the elements on this process that influence the positions of men and women in the science and technology system. It’s main argument is that a greater diversity of perspectives and insights in science innovation technology and engineering (SITE) will make the processes and products of SITE more equitable overall, and that greater equity in the products of science (knowledge, technologies and the ways they are applied) will in turn lead to more sustainable solutions to development challenges.