Editorial

AuthorPublications Office
Pages2-2
Contents
3
Moving beyond stereotypes to
understand masculinity
in Africa
5
Pregnancy – rethinking popular
assumptions
7
Understanding how migrants
connect is key to fostering
understanding
9
More national initiatives
needed to protect the rights of
domestic workers
11
Evidence-based policymaking
through socio-economic
analysis
13
The invisible women of
international migration
15
Shining a new light on modern
Chinese families and gender
roles
17
Examining gender through
the historical experiences of
disabled soldiers and their
carers
19
The reality behind a stalled
gender equality revolution
21
LGBTI+ asylum claimants call
for a fairer system
23
A new look into prehistoric
motherhood
25
The rise and rise of women
editors from 1700 onward
Editorial
Advancing innovative ideas and
perspectives on gender
Gender is much more than just the simple and traditional dichotomy between
men and women. Gender issues impact all of our lives and the very concept of
gender is being re-examined and redef‌ined. This CORDIS Results Pack highlights
some of the recent frontier research on issues relating to gender, funded by the
European Research Council (ERC). It features the work of ERC grantees whose
projects are working either within – or in several cases across – a multitude of
academic f‌ields within the humanities and social sciences.
The EU has made great strides over the past few decades in tackling gender discrimination through,
among other means, specific and targeted equal treatment legislation. These measures have often
been driven by organic social change, arising from the significant increase in women’s participation in
the formal workforce that began in the 1970s. Other contributing factors are more recent: such as social
media campaigns to end violence against women and to break the silence about sexual harassment
experienced in all types of workplaces, and in society at large.
Whilst there is still more work to be done to achieve real gender equality, much of the progress made
has advanced and consolidated the rights of women. Today, a ‘gender mainstreaming’ approach to
policymaking is broadly accepted. This method involves the integration of a gender perspective into
the preparation, design, implementation, monitoring and evaluation of policies, regulatory measures
and spending programmes.
For instance, the EU recently launched its Gender Equality Strategy for 2020-2025 which has, as its
core objective: “A union where women and men, girls and boys, in all their diversity, are free to pursue
their chosen path in life, have equal opportunities to thrive and can equally participate in, and lead,
our European society.”
Much of the research set out in this Results Pack seeks to provide a fresh perspective on what
equality and diversity look like, whether through a philosophical re-examination of pregnancy, a socio-
historical account of influential women editors in Europe, or through a detailed analysis of the specific
circumstances of female refugees.
Gender: a key variable in research
Gender is a significant variable in research, which is a factor that is all too often overlooked. The
current COVID-19 pandemic highlights this fact: men seem to be at a higher risk of suffering severe
complications when falling sick with the disease. Yet, it is women who are often more exposed to
the wider social and economic impacts of the disease. They perform higher-risk jobs e.g., in retail
or hospitality, and bear a disproportionately higher burden of caring for children and older relatives.
Gender dimensions have often been overlooked in ‘research design’, says Eveline Crone, vice-president
of the ERC. “Yet, understanding all aspect of human diversity is crucial for advancing the frontier of
knowledge and achieving true equality in society.”
Exploring gender across disciplines
The common purpose of the 12 projects that feature in this CORDIS Results Pack is to challenge
prevailing assumptions in mainstream science and society, and to shed new light on gender relations.
This they do by harnessing a cross-cutting approach to gender that brings together perspectives of
political science, sociology, history, international relations, law and philosophy.
This collection of projects provides a tantalising snapshot of some fascinating, recent research. The
scholars behind these efforts help advance our understanding of sex and gender, and their impact on
society and individuals. Their work allows us to better comprehend one of the fundamental elements
of human experience.

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