Bringing policy innovation through gender research in the social sciences

Gender inequality remains one of the most persistent and pressing economic challenges today. However, policymakers often address gender inequality through fragmented measures that focus on individual choices rather than the structural constraints driving economic disparities. This issue portrays how recent academic research increasingly supports this shift toward a multidisciplinary and overarching approach, highlighting the structural and cultural forces that sustain inequality. Gender inequality is not an isolated issue and gender disparities persist not because of a lack of talent or ambition among women but because of economic, legal, cultural, and institutional constraints that systematically disadvantage them. Whether in labour markets, workplace discrimination, health inequalities, or media narratives, gender gaps are reinforced through overlapping systems of exclusion. This recognition has profound policy implications: traditional, piecemeal interventions – such as work-family policies – are necessary but insufficient on their own. Addressing gender inequality requires a shift toward integrated, structural reforms that target the underlying constraints shaping women’s economic opportunities. Policies that promote financial inclusion, strengthen legal protections, enforce workplace rights, and challenge entrenched cultural norms must work in tandem. By linking individual-level gender penalties to systemic labour market inequalities, workplace policies, and institutional barriers within academia and policymaking, this issue underscores the urgent need for a more integrated approach to gender research and policy innovation.