Gender Bias in Research

Abstract

Gender bias in research results from androcentrism, gender insensitivity, and double standards concerning appropriate behaviors and social roles for females and males. Historically, males and their actions and artifacts have been overrepresented as subjects of research in the social and natural sciences. Findings derived from research on male samples have been generalized to the population as a whole, sometimes resulting in the development of social policies beneficial to males but detrimental to females or the use of medical treatments that are ineffective or harmful to females. Corrections to gender bias include recruitment of more females both as researchers and as research participants, separate statistical analyses of data derived from females and males, careful attention to the language and metaphors used in research, and identification and elimination of double standards in the interpretation and application of results. Keywords: gender; inequality/inequalities; medicine; methodology; scientific experiments