Workshop: Intersectionality in Research Funding: Thinking on Strategies for Implementation

Workshop 7: Intersectionality in Research Funding: Thinking on Strategies for Implementation, led by the Human Sciences Research Council, South Africa

Background
Research “provides a mirror to societies about what matters” (IDRC, 20191), yet scientific knowledge production has historically been complicit in perpetuating gender inequality and related oppressions. There has been growing awareness that addressing gender disparities in research promotes excellence and advances gender equality in society broadly, with progress in the development of related policies and frameworks. Intersectional approaches to gender transformation, where the impact of mutually reinforcing social identities such as sexuality, age, race, class, and (dis)ability are integrated, however, remain limited. Research grant-making and reporting are key sites for advancing intersectional gender transformation in knowledge production, through influencing diversity in research teams, content, methods, policies and frameworks.

Workshop focus
Despite growing recognition of the importance of integrating an intersectional lens in research funding, the complexity of the concept can create a barrier between theoretical conceptualisations and translating these into funding mechanisms. This two-hour workshop will engage how an intersectional framework can benefit grant-making practices by sharing experiences of researchers and practitioners applying such a framework in their respective fields. The workshop aims to share lessons and inspire creative solutions for implementing an intersectional approach to research grant-making.

1 International Development Research Centre. (2019). Transforming gender relations: Insights from IDRC research. Ottawa: IDRC.