Sex, Gender, and Diversity Analysis in Research Policies of Major Public Granting Agencies: A Global Review

National research agencies are funded by taxpayer monies and, as such, are responsible for promoting excellent research that benefits all of society. Integrating sex, gender and diversity analysis (SG&DA) into the design of research, where relevant, can improve research methodology and provide new insights. To realize this potential, funding agencies have developed policies for integrating this type of analysis into the grant proposal process. This study reviews those policies for 23 agencies across six continents. Overall, one agency achieved superior performance, six agencies scored excellent performance, five showed average performance, two need some improvement and nine require improvement. Our study developed a five-part SG&DA policy roadmap for agencies and collected best practices across that guide. Standard practices, tailored as appropriate to country-specific cultures and regulatory landscapes, will enhance collaboration potential, global equity, research excellence and reproducibility.