Gender and interdisciplinary research

The gender dynamics of interdisciplinarity is an under-explored topic. Further research on how those who identify as women engage in inter- and transdisciplinary research in academia is crucial to determining whether this mode of research risks presenting female scholars with a “double burden” when progressing their careers. The facilitation of interdisciplinary research collaborations often falls by default to younger women, employed as project managers, communications officers or “knowledge brokers”. Such largely unrecognised integration skills are vital for the success of such research. Greater acknowledgement of these roles resonates with the feminist ethics of care and “slow scholarship” as well as the recent emergence of “research culture” as a major concern of funding bodies. Research on whether male and female academics experience inter- and transdisciplinary research differently should take place alongside initiatives by universities and funders to ensure institutional environments enable all scholars who pursue such research to do so most effectively.