The evolution of gender monitoring and its challenges in Research and Innovation in Europe: She Figures reports analysis dataset

The article delves into the European Commission's flagship initiative on gender monitoring in science and innovation, offering a responsible metrics perspective and drawing on equality policy literature. Over two decades, the initiative has evolved from competitiveness-related justifications to more transformative objectives related to equality policy evaluation, with the measurement areas and policy focus also undergoing changes. While there has been notable progress, the article points out a logic of invisibility in how dimensions and indicators are conceptualised and their data sources and interpretation. However, it also highlights a significant improvement in the information available. The article suggests that the contextualisation of the process could be enhanced to better integrate it into the policy-making cycle, a crucial area for further research. It concludes with proposals for future gender monitoring science and innovation. The aim is to offer an encouraging vision of monitoring that counts more on who is monitored and in opening up the debates instead of closing them.