A briefing document and resource guide
by Lesley Doyal. 2005. 26 pages. ISBN 2-940286-33-7

	Gender, Health and the Millennium Development Goals (2005)
	Gender and Health Sector Reform (2004)
	Mainstreaming Gender at Forum 6 (2003)
	Sex, gender and the 10/90 gap in health research (2002)

A litterature review and report from a workshop at Forum 7
by Lesley Doyal. 2004. 26 pages. ISBN 2-940286-28-0

	Gender, Health and the Millennium Development Goals (2005)
	Gender and Health Sector Reform (2004)
	Mainstreaming Gender at Forum 6 (2003)
	Sex, gender and the 10/90 gap in health research (2002)

A briefing document and resource guide.
by Lesley Doyal. 2003. 59 pages. ISBN 2-940286-14-0

During the last decade there has been a growing acceptance of the importance of gender concerns in public policy. The Platform for Action of the 1995 UN conference in Beijing set out a framework for understanding the negative impact of gender inequalities on individuals and on the wider society. Both national and international policy-makers have now begun to take these issues more seriously as they reshape development policies in the context of global restructuring. This has been especially evident in the health field. It is against this background that the Global Forum for Health Research has taken up gender issues with considerable vigour over the last two or three years. The aims of this work have been twofold: to ensure better science and to promote gender equity. The Global Forum is now committed to mainstreaming gender through all its work. This was clearly reflected in Forum 6 in Arusha, Tanzania (November 2002) where the programme was planned to ensure that gender issues were high on the agenda. All participants were also given a briefing document and resource guide entitled Sex, gender and the 10/90 gap.

One of the plenary sessions at Forum 6 focused on gender and this was followed by seven workshops on related themes (a full list of sessions and speakers can be found in the Annex). These included sessions on sexual and reproductive health and gender violence which have traditionally been seen as ‘women’s issues’. However most of the presentations were concerned with gender aspects of health problems that affect both sexes. These included HIV/AIDS, malaria and coronary heart disease as well as depression and blindness. Very importantly, these presentations were not concerned only with women’s health and the presenters included men as well as women. It is a key part of the Global Forum’s position that gender is not just a women’s issue. Men are also affected by gender divisions and men also need to take them seriously. That is what we mean by mainstreaming gender.

This briefing document for Forum 7 offers a summary of the main ideas presented in the gender sessions at Forum 6. These are based on the original documents provided by the presenters, to which suggestions for further reading have been added to follow up the ideas in the session. Though the presentations cover a wide variety of topics, they are held together by a number of key themes: the importance of taking both biological sex and social gender into account in planning and undertaking health research, the value of both quantitative and qualitative methodologies depending on the subject of study, and the importance of pursuing greater equality between women and men as both study participants and researchers.

	Gender, Health and the Millennium Development Goals (2005)
	Gender and Health Sector Reform (2004)
	Mainstreaming Gender at Forum 6 (2003)
	Sex, gender and the 10/90 gap in health research (2002)

A briefing document and resource guide.
by Lesley Doyal 2002. 16 pages. ISBN 2-940286-08-6

The Global Forum believes that a systematic approach to gender issues must be a central part of its strategy for helping correct the 10/90 gap.

It is estimated that around 70% of the world’s poor are women. The health of these women is often adversely affected not just by their poverty but also by the gender inequalities that continue to divide many of the world’s poorest countries. In light of these important realities, the Global Forum is committed to achieving greater gender sensitivity in all its work. This will contribute to the scientific validity and representativeness of research outcomes while at the same time promoting greater progress towards social justice.

This briefing document represents one aspect of this ‘gender mainstreaming’ in the work of the Global Forum. The aim of the document is to provide a resource for researchers who wish to incorporate gender concerns into their work in systematic and appropriate ways. Part 1 begins with a brief account of the arguments for gender sensitivity in health research especially in the context of poverty and social exclusion. It then goes on to explore the implications of these arguments for the research process itself. Part 2 provides a range of resources for those who wish to explore these issues further. These include articles, books and practical tools, as well as a guide to relevant websites.

Ensuring greater gender sensitivity in health-related research does not mean that this is concerned only with women. Men’s health too may be affected in fundamental ways by both their sex and their gender and this is reflected in the analysis which follows. It is also important to emphasize that differences in the health problems of women and men are not related only to their reproductive biology or its social implications. Though these are important, it is also clear that more general health problems may be experienced very differently by men and women and may have different implications for their lives. The main emphasis in this document will therefore not be on the reproductive health problems specific to women (or men) but on the sex and gender differences in those health problems that affect both sexes.

	Gender, Health and the Millennium Development Goals (2005)
	Gender and Health Sector Reform (2004)
	Mainstreaming Gender at Forum 6 (2003)
	Sex, gender and the 10/90 gap in health research (2002)