Evidence worldwide shows that gender-blind approaches in research and innovation weaken quality of outcomes: from underrepresentation of women in clinical trials leading to misdiagnosis and higher drug toxicity, to AI algorithms reinforcing stereotypes, to energy transitions that treat women only as beneficiaries rather than decision-makers.
The 25th Gender Summit continues to engage scientists gender scholars and policy makers in ensuring that excellence in science knowledge-making.
Importantly, GS25 will launch a new regional platform for dialogue focused on India, adding to the already active platforms for Asia Pacific, Africa, Europe, North America, and Latin America and the Caribbean.
GS25 will come in two parts: the on-line event focused on research on 17-18 November 2025, and the in-person event in New Delhi focused on policy timed to coincide with the Women’s Day celebrations in 2026.
The GS-India platform will showcase the multiple efforts India has been making to empower women in science as part of the Viksit Bharat 2047 mission. It will also advance opportunities for collaboration with neighbouring countries, and globally, who share similar concerns and goals to improve the quality and impact of the science enterprise for their societies.
For India in 2025, the challenge to make participation in research an innovation more inclusive is especially urgent. National priorities—Digital India, Ayushman Bharat, Atmanirbhar Bharat, Net Zero 2070—depend on robust scientific and technological solutions. Yet, women remain disproportionately affected by exclusion from biomedical, energy and sustainability research, digitalisation, and participation in innovation systems. These inequities are magnified by caste, class, and rural–urban divides.
The timing of the launch of GS–India is also globally significant. It coincides with the approaching conclusion of the UN SDG Agenda 2030, the planning for the next EU Framework R&I Programme, the challenges to gender sensitive scientific research in some countries, and the continued need to improve women’s health, secure societal and economic wellbeing, and protect environmental sustainability.