Sex and gender bias in research and innovation (R&I) can lead to gaps in knowledge and technology that disadvantage large segments of society. The European Union’s recent policies, including the Gender Equality Strategy 2020–2025 and Horizon Europe framework, explicitly mandate the integration of sex, gender, and intersectional analysis into research content (Council of the European Union, 2025). However, many researchers lack practical training on how to incorporate these analyses into their work. This paper presents a tested pedagogical approach for teaching researchers to embed sex/gender and intersectional perspectives in R&I. Drawing on my experience as a gender expert and mentor in Poland’s Horizon Europe National Contact Point, I describe a series of interactive workshops conducted in 2023–2025 across disciplines (STEM and SSH). Each workshop combined informative lectures on policy context and theory with case-based group exercises. Participants analysed real-world case studies of gender bias in research (e.g., heart disease diagnostics, crash test dummies, AI facial recognition) and then co-developed their own research project concepts integrating a gender dimension. Qualitative results from group discussions and outputs demonstrate that this approach increased researchers’ awareness of gender and intersectionality in their fields and improved their ability to design gender-responsive research protocols. I frame the pedagogical strategy in light of feminist and critical pedagogies – emphasising intersectionality, transformative learning, and reflexivity. The evolving workshop curriculum, refined through participant feedback, illustrates an effective, empowering methodology for capacity-building in gender+ analysis. I discuss how this teaching model can be scaled and adapted and how it contributes to “breaking the bias” by equipping researchers to produce more inclusive and socially relevant innovations. The findings offer insights for science education and policy initiatives seeking to standardise sex, gender, and intersectional analysis in research through targeted training and mentorship.
Monika Ryndzionek (Tue,) studied this question.