Researchers' sex/gender identity influences how sex/gender question is investigated in neuroscience: an example from an OHBM meeting

Abstract

Gender inequality and diversity in STEM is a challenging field of research. Although the relation between the sex/gender of the researcher and the scientific research practices has been previously examined, less interest has been demonstrated towards the relation between sex/gender of the researcher and the way sex/gender as a variable is explored. Here, we examine, from a neurofeminist perspective, both questions: whether sex/gender identity is related to the examination of sex/gender as a variable and whether different approaches towards examining sex/gender are being used in different topics of study within neuroscience. Using the database of submitted posters to the Organization of Human Brain Mapping 2022 annual conference, we identified abstracts examining a sex/gender-related research question. Among these target abstracts, we identified four analytical categories, varying in their degree of content-related complexity: (1) sex/gender as a covariate, (2) sex/gender as a binary variable for the study of sex/gender differences, (3) sex/gender with additional biological information, and (4) sex/gender with additional social information. Statistical comparisons between sex/gender of researcher and the target abstract showed that the proportion of abstracts from Non-binary or Other first authors compared to both Women and Men was lower for all submitted abstracts than for the target abstracts; that more researchers with sex/gender-identity other than man implemented analytical category of sex/gender with additional social information; and, for instance, that research involving cognitive, affective, and behavioural neuroscience more frequently fit into the sex/gender with additional social information-category. Word cloud analysis confirmed the validity of the four exploratorily identified analytical categories. We conclude by discussing how raising awareness about contemporary neurofeminist approaches, including perspectives from the global south, is critical to neuroscientific and societal progress.

Keywords: Equality; Neurofeminism; OHBM; Sex/gender research.

Fig. 1

PRISMA flow diagram of the inclusion of abstracts in the review. Note: PRISMA = Preferred reporting items for systematic reviews and meta-analyses (http://www.prismastatement.org/)

Fig. 2

Overview of first abstracts’ distributions. Distribution of abstracts for each analytical category by first authors’ sex/gender classification. *Significant at p < 0.05 (Bonf.)

Fig. 3

Overview of first abstracts’ distributions. Distribution of abstracts for each analytical category by topical category. *Significant at p < 0.05 (Bonf.)

Fig. 4

Semantics of the four different analytical categories examining sex/gender. Word clouds from abstract titles (10 most frequent words) in all four different analytical categories: A Sex/gender as a covariate, B Sex/gender as binary variable for the study of sex/gender differences, C Sex/gender with additional biological information, D Sex/gender with additional social information

Fig. 5

Semantics of three of the four different analytical categories examining sex/gender. Word clouds (50 most frequent words) generated from the content of the abstracts of the analytical categories. A Sex/gender as binary variable for the study of sex/gender differences, B Sex/gender with additional biological information, C Sex/gender with additional social information