Progress is neither swift nor easy: assessing funding agencies? capacity to address science inequities

Abstract

In the early 21st century, increasing awareness of research biases fueled interest in meta-research and research integrity, leading to debates on the potential negative impact of research assessments on the research environment. These ongoing discussions have reinforced the need to implement responsible research assessments to address various inequalities in science. Science funding agencies (FAs) play a central role in either mitigating or perpetuating these inequities. This study investigates how ten FAs worldwide are addressing equity, diversity, and inclusion (EDI) in their institutional statements and funding activities, examining aspects beyond gender, including the existence of dedicated EDI departments/sections, the implementation of bias-elimination guidelines in peer review processes, systematic evaluations, and the public availability of diversity data. Although our analysis is confined to ten agencies, the findings aim to offer insights into broader EDI integration initiatives across the science-funding landscape, revealing progress toward a more intersectional approach to EDI among these entities.