(iPoster) Gender Equality in Science and Democratic Governance: Gender in STI Policy

• In Event: Poster Session: Science, Technology, and Environmental Politics

Abstract

In contemporary societies, scientific knowledge shapes how social problems are defined, how risks are assessed, and which policy solutions are deemed legitimate and feasible, rendering decisions about science and technology inherently political. Given the central role of science and technology in democratic governance, gender inequality in science-encompassing both women’s underrepresentation and gender bias in knowledge production-poses a significant threat to democratic legitimacy. The underrepresentation of women in scientific fields embodies a democratic deficit, insofar as it reflects unequal authority over scientific and technological decision-making and the systematic exclusion of particular social groups from these processes. At the same time, gender bias embedded in scientific knowledge and its production, such as the long-standing reliance on male subjects as the standard in clinical research, leaves certain perspectives and experiences invisible. Given that scientific knowledge is mobilized alongside technological choices and political action in democratic governance, such epistemic bias does not merely distort information, but shapes the terms on which political judgment is constituted, thereby undermining democratic legitimacy. Therefore, this democratic threat due to gender inequality in science calls for moving beyond participation alone and examining institutional and policy mechanisms through which research agendas, epistemic standards, and forms of expertise are defined and governed.
To address this problem, science, technology, and innovation (STI) policy serves as a critical institutional site, as it shapes not only who participates in research and innovation, but also what kinds of knowledge are produced. Yet science has long been understood as a domain insulated from normative values, governed by ideals of objectivity and value-neutrality. Within this epistemic culture, gender equality was largely regarded as a peripheral concern, rather than as a central objective of STI policy. As a result, the incorporation of gender equality into STI policy has required more than normative claims about inclusion, instead depending on the successful justification of gender equality as a legitimate and relevant policy objective within the logic of STI policy. This paper therefore asks how gender equality has come to acquire policy legitimacy within STI policy, and how different approaches to addressing gender inequality in science have been framed and justified over time.
Reflecting two dimensions of gender inequality in science, STI policy has developed two broad approaches for gender equality. While “fixing the numbers” focuses on increasing women’s participation in scientific fields, “fixing the knowledge” seeks to address epistemic bias by integrating gender as an analytical dimension into research processes. Among existing STI policies, the European Union’s Framework Programme is widely recognized as one of the most advanced cases in incorporating the “fixing the knowledge” approach. Building on this context, the paper examines the evolution and justification of gender equality policy within the EU Framework Programme. Drawing on a frame analysis of Framework Programme policy documents, the analysis shows that “fixing the numbers” and “fixing the knowledge” were constructed as distinct policy problems and solutions, justified through different logics. At the same time, however, the two approaches exhibit a shared trajectory of evolution. First, gender equality is consistently aligned with the core objectives of STI policy, such as enhancing scientific competitiveness and addressing global challenges. For example, increasing the number of women scientists is regarded as a strategy for developing high-quality human capital and enhancing scientific competitiveness. Second, rather than relying on normative claims alone, gender equality is justified through a logic of scientific excellence, in which increasing women’s participation and addressing gender bias in knowledge production are framed as means to improve innovation capacity and the quality of scientific outcomes.
These findings provide an empirical account of how gender equality can be incorporated into STI policy through processes of framing that render this normative concern compatible with prevailing policy logics. In the context of democratic backsliding, this analysis further demonstrates how STI policy can serve as a key institutional mechanism for reinforcing the democratic legitimacy of scientific expertise and sustaining more inclusive knowledge systems.

Author

• Doyeon Kim, Seoul National University