The rapidly growing global focus on innovation through research and the growth of an increasingly interconnected world economy necessitate the development and advancement of a more effective and diverse population of scientists and engineers. A wider and more varied pool of ideas is needed to boost creativity and innovation and to produce better science and better technologies. It is important to engage all available talent. Historically STEM research was dominated by men and generally conducted without much regard for sex (biological differences) or gender (socio-cultural differences between men and women) or the interaction between these and the environmental effects. An implicit assumption was that it did not matter if the researcher was a man or a woman and that male and female subjects reacted or responded similarly whether in clinical trials or other research protocols. This assumption produced flawed research results that were potentially wasteful costly or harmful. During the last decade however evidence has been accumulating to show how sex/gender can influence research results and differentiate quality of outcomes for women and men. The aim of this talk is to present this evidence and to report on the emerging scientific consensus on where improvements to science knowledge making are needed and where opportunities are being created for new research and applications.
