03978nas a2200757   4500000000100000008004100001260001500042653001600057653002000073653001100093653002000104653002000124653003100144653001900175100002100194700002200215700001500237700001900252700002600271700002200297700002400319700001400343700002100357700002100378700002300399700002000422700001400442700002100456700002300477700001500500700001700515700002200532700001900554700002000573700001800593700001900611700001700630700002000647700001700667700002300684700002000707700002300727700001800750700002900768700002000797700001400817700002400831700002200855700002300877700001700900700002100917700002200938700002400960700002400984700002501008700001901033700002101052700002101073700002301094245007701117856004601194300000701240490000701247520195201254022001403206       2016                            d  c2016-07-1910aAthena SWAN10aCall for action10aGender10aHealth research10aPath dependency10aResearch impact assessment10ascience policy1 aPavel V. Ovseiko1 aTrisha Greenhalgh1 aPaula Adam1 aJonathan Grant1 aSaba Hinrichs-Krapels1 aKathryn E. Graham1 aPamela A. Valentine1 aOmar Sued1 aOmar F. Boukhris1 aNada M. Al Olaqi1 aIdrees S. Al Rahbi1 aAnne-Maree Dowd1 aSara Bice1 aTamika L. Heiden1 aMichael D. Fischer1 aSue Dopson1 aRobyn Norton1 aAlexandra Pollitt1 aSteven Wooding1 aGert V. Balling1 aUlla Jakobsen1 aEllen Kuhlmann1 aIneke Klinge1 aLinda H. Pololi1 aReshma Jagsi1 aHelen Lawton Smith1 aHenry Etzkowitz1 aMathias W. Nielsen1 aCarme Carrion1 aMaite Solans‐Domènech1 aEsther Vizcaino1 aLin Naing1 aQuentin H. N. Cheok1 aBaerbel Eckelmann1 aMoses C. Simuyemba1 aTemwa Msiska1 aGiovanna Declich1 aLaurel D. Edmunds1 aVasiliki Kiparoglou1 aAlison M. J. Buchan1 aCatherine Williamson1 aGraham M. Lord1 aKeith M. Channon1 aRebecca Surender1 aAlastair M. Buchan00aA global call for action to include gender in research impact assessment  uhttps://doi.org/10.1186/s12961-016-0126-z  a500 v143 aGlobal investment in biomedical research has grown significantly over the last decades, reaching approximately a quarter of a trillion US dollars in 2010. However, not all of this investment is distributed evenly by gender. It follows, arguably, that scarce research resources may not be optimally invested (by either not supporting the best science or by failing to investigate topics that benefit women and men equitably). Women across the world tend to be significantly underrepresented in research both as researchers and research participants, receive less research funding, and appear less frequently than men as authors on research publications. There is also some evidence that women are relatively disadvantaged as the beneficiaries of research, in terms of its health, societal and economic impacts. Historical gender biases may have created a path dependency that means that the research system and the impacts of research are biased towards male researchers and male beneficiaries, making it inherently difficult (though not impossible) to eliminate gender bias. In this commentary, we – a group of scholars and practitioners from Africa, America, Asia and Europe – argue that gender-sensitive research impact assessment could become a force for good in moving science policy and practice towards gender equity. Research impact assessment is the multidisciplinary field of scientific inquiry that examines the research process to maximise scientific, societal and economic returns on investment in research. It encompasses many theoretical and methodological approaches that can be used to investigate gender bias and recommend actions for change to maximise research impact. We offer a set of recommendations to research funders, research institutions and research evaluators who conduct impact assessment on how to include and strengthen analysis of gender equity in research impact assessment and issue a global call for action.  a1478-4505