Workshop on Gender and Diversity Analysis in Research across the Science Infrastructure

University Of Texas At Dallas, Richardson TX

Investigators

Abstract

Integrating into research design and analysis new perspectives on the ways in which biological and social categories intersect and overlap has led to discovery and innovation across numerous disciplines. It also promotes rigorous, reproducible and responsible science and technology. For example, car safety systems were dramatically improved to increase injury protection for women after national car crash data were separated for male and female drivers and female car crash dummies were introduced to account for the effect of acceleration on sex-specific biomechanics. To reap the benefits of the perspectives this approach offers in science and engineering research, it is essential that three pillars of academic research infrastructure coordinate efforts. This project brings together researchers and administrators at universities, journal editors, and funding agencies in two international workshops. The pair of workshops will share perspectives and resources across the U.S. and Canadian communities with the aim of fostering iSGDA in computer science and engineering research. Much progress has been made recently incorporating intersectional sex, gender, and diversity analysis (iSGDA) into medicine, health, and life science research. The workshops will draw from those models where relevant and focus on fields that are lagging behind. Attendees will include researchers from all areas of computer science and engineering, including artificial intelligence, machine learning, robotics, natural language processing, mechanical, civil, and other engineering. The long-term goals of the workshops are to: conceptualize methodologies for integrating iSGDA into research design, processes, analysis, and interpretation of research results; disseminate methods to researchers and staff across research institutions, funding agencies, and peer-reviewed journals; train the current and next generation of researchers who serve as peer reviewers for funding agencies, journals, and hiring, tenure, and promotion committees, and train faculty on best practices for incorporating these methods into core courses in their disciplines. This award reflects NSF's statutory mission and has been deemed worthy of support through evaluation using the Foundation's intellectual merit and broader impacts review criteria.