① Dr. Sowmya Swaminathan（Springer Nature, Director, DEI, Research）

＜Title＞ How Publishers Can Support Progress on Gender Representation

＜Abstract＞ Women's representation in research has increased significantly in the last two decades. Recent data from the European Commission shows that women globally represent 34% of corresponding authors. There is variation by discipline and region with women representing 40-60% of researchers in some regions and disciplines. Nevertheless, across all global regions and disciplines, the gender gap increases with seniority with lower representation of women. I will speak about how Springer Nature is taking a data-informed approach to understand gender representation in the groups of researchers we work with, in the context of peer review and in the research we publish.

＜Title＞ Advancing Gendered Innovations in Research and Education: Toward Excellence in Science & Technology

＜Abstract＞ In many fields of research and development in science and technology, men have often been taken as the standard subjects, while women have tended to be overlooked. Gendered Innovations is an approach that integrates sex and gender analysis into the design of research and technological development. This approach stimulates creativity and leads to new discoveries and innovations. In recent years, intersectional analysis has also been emphasized, taking into account multiple attributes, including sexuality, age, ability, race, ethnicity, geographic location, and socioeconomic status. Internationally, funding agencies and peer-reviewed journals are increasingly encouraging or requiring the consideration of sex and gender differences in grant applications and manuscript submissions. In Japan, such requirements are likewise expected to influence publications and international collaborations. In this lecture, I will present case studies of Gendered Innovations, discuss trends in Japan and abroad, and explore the role of higher education and research institutions.