Promoting Innovation

This anthology uses a gender perspective to analyse constraining structures in innovation systems. Focusing on mainstream policies as well as regional and organizational practices, it presents procedures, methods and methodologies to develop genderaware, innovative organisations.

Fostering innovation requires ability to question what is taken for granted and perceived as the natural order. Challenging this order often requires a critical mind where a gender perspective can be useful. The experience of integrating a gender perspective can be likened to turning a kaleidoscope; the resulting shift in perspective causes new images and highlights new opportunities.

This anthology is the result of more than ten years’ research and development work funded by Vinnova and aimed at establishing a research field in gender and innovation. Ten years ago, there were few researchers and limited research focusing on this area. Today, the picture is different and this anthology presents the analyses of 31 researchers on how gender is a constraining structure within innovation systems. There is little doubt that integrating a gender perspective helps promoting innovation.