Adoption of New Sex and Gender Equity in Research Guidelines

New international Sex and Gender Equity in Research (SAGER) Guidelines were recently published in Research Integrity and Peer Review. These guidelines are also listed on the EQUATOR network website.

Why the guidelines?

Sex and gender influence our health, from the cellular to the societal level. They affect the risk of developing certain diseases, how well we respond to medical treatments, and how we seek health care. Yet these factors are often not taken into account in designing, conducting and reporting research. Better science can help improve understanding of sex and gender differences and the generalizability of research findings. The more we understand, the more we can improve health and well-being for everyone.

Lead the way

We invite all editors and publishers of Canadian scientific journals to promote research excellence by endorsing and implementing the SAGER guidelines. The form below is intended as a pledge to adopt or statement of adoption of the guidelines. The list of Canadian journals that have updated their guidelines will be updated regularly by the Institute of Gender and Health.

When you are placed on the list of Canadian journals who will adopt or have adopted the SAGER guidelines, we will also submit your journal to the European Association of Science Editors Gender Policy committee’s international list of publications, researchers and supporters who have endorsed the SAGER guidelines.

How to implement the guidelines

  1. Join the international community supporting sex and gender equity in research reporting.

  2. Update your journal’s instructions for authors and/or reviewers with a statement such as:

    We encourage our authors to follow the ‘Sex and Gender Equity in Research – SAGER – guidelines’ and to include sex and gender considerations where relevant. Authors should use the terms sex (biological attribute) and gender (shaped by social and cultural circumstances) carefully in order to avoid confusing both terms. Article titles and/or abstracts should indicate clearly what sex(es) the study applies to. Authors should also describe in the background, whether sex and/or gender differences may be expected; report how sex and/or gender were accounted for in the design of the study; provide disaggregated data by sex and/or gender, where appropriate; and discuss respective results. If a sex and/or gender analysis was not conducted, the rationale should be given in the Discussion. We suggest that our authors consult the full guidelines before submission.

  3. Confirm that your journal has adopted the SAGER guidelines by filling out the online form to join our list of publications, or email Rachel MacNeill so that the Institute of Gender and Health can profile your journal in its communications.

  4. Spread the word to your community, including editors, authors and reviewers. A toolkit is available to assist you with this process. It includes:
    1. The model statement for instructions for authors and reviewers (above);
    2. Free online training modules from CIHR on sex and gender in health research;
    3. Brochure describing the guidelines and their development;
    4. Commentary on the guidelines by Paola De Castro, Shirin Heidari, and Thomas F. Babor.
Date modified: