Gender Imperatives of International Research Collaboration in a Small Research System: A Case Study on Research from Uganda

Abstract

The nexus of gender and development has become a recurring theme in international development practice and theory. Increasingly, gender matters are taking centre-stage in the global development discourse as issues relating to gender justice are redefining contemporary development debates. Various development leitmotifs are currently being shaped by narratives about how gender is recasting traditional growth patterns in the developing world. Over the last twenty years, specific policy reforms in many developing countries have highlighted issues of gender-mainstreaming and gender-inclusive growth as a yardstick for development. Gender has become a compound term with a plethora of meanings (Cornwall, 2007). Terms like the “Gender dividend” are becoming more mainstreamed in contemporary development literature. The structural changes in the global political economy are continuously readjusting to recognize the value-add or contribution of gender to the economy. Whereas the broader definition of gender encapsulates the various norms, cultures and other forms of social behavior, this research problematizes the role of gender in international research collaboration. While several studies (including Publication 1) have found that gender is a significant predictor of a researcher’s participation in IRC, this study set out: To establish how the features of a research team determine the likelihood of a researcher being male and female; To characterize the role of gender in shaping research teams involved in internationally collaborative research. Using Feature Analysis to model the influence of research features on the gender of the research, a binary logistic regression was undertaken with a gradient boosting model to increase precision. In addition, text-mining analysis, machine learning and natural language processing were also used to examine the role of gender in research teams of research projects registered at Uganda National Council of Science and Technology. The results indicate that the researcher's role is the most influential factor (38.1%), followed by the gender of the lead researcher (23.5%), estimated budget (7.7%), nationality (Ugandan) (7.1%), and age (5.3%). These factors strongly influence the gender composition of research teams, suggesting that the assigned role, gender itself, financial resources, nationality, and age play significant roles in determining the gender of the lead researcher. Other factors such as professional experience, project duration, field of research, and qualifications also have some influence, although to a lesser extent. These findings emphasize the importance of considering these factors when promoting gender diversity and equality in research projects. The research concludes that in order to make IRC teams more gender inclusive, a critical appraisal of other factors needs to be undertaken. Gender-inclusive policies should make further considerations on how research teams are constructed (or led) and the intersectionality that informs those choices. This broader outlook will make IRC more inclusive.