Ethical Considerations in Scientific Research

Why so few female professors? 🔹97% of female professors say "barriers within academia" such as "implicit bias in evaluations, male networks and an unwelcoming academic culture" play an important role. 🔹Only 22% of male professors mention such barriers. Instead, male professors are more likely to point to "family factors" and "women's own interests and preferences". 🔹A majority of male professors shows "hesitation, uneasiness or reluctance when asked how the low proportion of female professors can be explained". Only 3% of female professors do so. These are among the key results of a study by sociologists Margaretha Järvinen and Nanna Mik-Meyer, based on 77 qualitative interviews with full professors in economics, political science, and sociology in Denmark. Moreover, the study identifies "a ‘silent standpoint’ among the participating male professors: the idea that women are generally less qualified than men as candidates for full professorships." Read the full study here: Margaretha Järvinen and Nanna Mik-Meyer (2026), The Silent Standpoint: How Professors Explain Gender Disparities in Academia, British Journal of Sociology, forthcoming: https://lnkd.in/eG6UkJ6x (open access) The quotes from the interviews in the "Supporting information" file are also quite illuminating. HT Marie Rosenkrantz Lindegaard

🧨 Uncomfortable truth I’ve realised from research: Even after completing my MSc in Sustainability & Environmental Management, I keep reading papers, case studies, and reports to stay updated. And one pattern keeps surfacing: 👉 Sustainability is quietly becoming an elite concept. The language of the field has shifted “net zero,” “ESG,” “carbon credits,” “circularity” all discussed in boardrooms, global conferences, and glossy reports. But when you dig into the literature, the reality on the ground is starkly different. 📚 I recently came across studies showing: Solar farms displacing indigenous communities, while their villages still lack reliable electricity. Waste-pickers in India and Africa practicing circularity for decades, yet they are erased from official “circular economy” narratives. Climate adaptation projects that look good on paper, but don’t address the everyday survival struggles of marginalised groups. The deeper I read, the clearer it becomes: sustainability today often benefits those with access, not those with urgent need. If we don’t actively centre grassroots voices, rethink equity in climate action, and challenge this elitist framing, then we’re not moving towards sustainability. We’re moving towards sustainability as branding. 🎓 Research shouldn’t only educate it should challenge us. And the challenge is this: Whose sustainability are we really building? #Sustainability #ClimateJustice #EnvironmentalEquity #MScResearch #GlobalSouthVoices #DecoloniseSustainability #AcademicPerspective #SystemicChange Some of the Papers: Pearsall, H., & Anguelovski, I. (2016). Contesting and resisting environmental gentrification: Responses to new paradoxes and challenges for urban environmental justice. Sociological Research Online, 21(3), 1–7. Godden, N. J., Wijekoon, D., & Wrigley, K. (2022). Social (in)justice, climate change and climate policy in Western Australia. Environmental Sociology, 8(3), 292–303. Weißermel, S., & Wehrhahn, R. (2024). Climate‐just housing: A socio‐spatial perspective on climate policy and housing. International Journal of Urban and Regional Research.

During my MS in Development Studies, I researched 𝗵𝗼𝘄 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗹 𝗱𝗶𝘀𝗮𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗿𝘀. In a village near Mardan, KPK Pakistan I interviewed elders who explained how they 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁𝗲𝗱 𝘁𝗵𝗲 𝟮𝟬𝟬𝟴 𝗳𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗱 𝗹𝗼𝗻𝗴 𝗯𝗲𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝗻𝘆 𝗳𝗼𝗿𝗺𝗮𝗹 𝗮𝗹𝗲𝗿𝘁. They noticed changes: -- in the river’s sound, --shifts in animal behaviour, -- patterns in the sky. This knowledge signals passed down through generations. Because of that, their community evacuated early and survived. When I later compared this with global data, the pattern was the same. Disaster organisations in the 𝗣𝗵𝗶𝗹𝗶𝗽𝗽𝗶𝗻𝗲𝘀, 𝗡𝗲𝘄 𝗭𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗮𝗻𝗱, 𝗕𝗼𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗶𝗮, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗖𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗱𝗮 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘄 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗲𝗴𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗸𝗻𝗼𝘄𝗹𝗲𝗱𝗴𝗲 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗿𝗶𝘀𝗸 𝗺𝗮𝗻𝗮𝗴𝗲𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 because it identifies threats earlier than technology. This raises a simple but important point: 𝗽𝗲𝗼𝗽𝗹𝗲 𝘄𝗵𝗼 𝗹𝗶𝘃𝗲 𝗰𝗹𝗼𝘀𝗲𝘀𝘁 𝘁𝗼 𝗻𝗮𝘁𝘂𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗳𝘁𝗲𝗻 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗶𝘁 𝗺𝗼𝘀𝘁 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝘁𝗲𝗹𝘆. Yet globally, they are still treated as “participants” rather than essential decision-makers. In political ecology and environmental anthropology, this is called epistemic injustice, when certain knowledge systems are undervalued simply because they don’t come from technical institutions. 𝗪𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗵𝗮𝗽𝗽𝗲𝗻𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻 𝗕𝗿𝗮𝘇𝗶𝗹 𝗮𝘁 𝗖𝗢𝗣𝟯𝟬, 𝘁𝗵𝗼𝘂𝘀𝗮𝗻𝗱𝘀 𝗼𝗳 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝗮𝘁𝘁𝗲𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗲𝘀, 𝗯𝘂𝘁 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗮 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘁𝗶𝗼𝗻 𝗮𝗹𝗹𝗼𝘄𝗲𝗱 𝗶𝗻𝘁𝗼 𝗱𝗲𝗰𝗶𝘀𝗶𝗼𝗻-𝗺𝗮𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘀𝗽𝗮𝗰𝗲𝘀, 𝗶𝘀 𝗮 𝗰𝗹𝗲𝗮𝗿 𝗲𝘅𝗮𝗺𝗽𝗹𝗲. The world depends on Indigenous peoples to protect biodiversity, maintain forests, and monitor environmental changes, yet when climate policy is written, their role becomes symbolic instead of structural. My research in Pakistan, and evidence from across the world shows that 𝗜𝗻𝗱𝗶𝗴𝗲𝗻𝗼𝘂𝘀 𝘀𝘆𝘀𝘁𝗲𝗺𝘀 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝗱𝗶𝗰𝘁, 𝗽𝗿𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗻𝘁, 𝗮𝗻𝗱 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗽𝗼𝗻𝗱 𝘁𝗼 𝗲𝗻𝘃𝗶𝗿𝗼𝗻𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗵𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝘀 𝘄𝗶𝘁𝗵 𝗮 𝗹𝗲𝘃𝗲𝗹 𝗼𝗳 𝗮𝗰𝗰𝘂𝗿𝗮𝗰𝘆 𝗺𝗼𝗱𝗲𝗿𝗻 𝗳𝗿𝗮𝗺𝗲𝘄𝗼𝗿𝗸𝘀 𝗮𝗿𝗲 𝗼𝗻𝗹𝘆 𝗯𝗲𝗴𝗶𝗻𝗻𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝘁𝗼 𝘂𝗻𝗱𝗲𝗿𝘀𝘁𝗮𝗻𝗱. Because climate change is not only a scientific problem. It is a knowledge problem. We cannot keep designing policies in rooms that exclude the people who understand the land the most. Until Indigenous communities are treated as core contributors rather than invited spectators, our global climate response will remain incomplete, and far less effective than it could be.

🌍 Who Shapes the “Just Transition”? A Mirror to the Politics of Knowledge in Climate Research Our new paper, published in Environmental Research Letters (ERL), exposes how a small circle of scholars and journals — mostly in the Global North — dominate the framing of “just transition”, steering it toward technocratic fixes and energy transitions while marginalising debates about structural inequality, power, and justice. Using bibliometric analysis of over 5,000 papers published between 1986 and 2023, we uncover how intellectual hegemony operates quietly — through citations, journals, and “legitimate” epistemic regimes — shaping what counts as knowledge, whose voices are heard, and which futures are imaginable. At stake is not just academic balance but the legitimacy of global climate governance itself. If the “just transition” is to be truly just, it must draw from diverse epistemologies — especially from the Global South, where climate injustices are lived most sharply and where innovation often takes place outside formal academia. Read the full paper here 👉 https://lnkd.in/esTVS4d2 #JustTransition #ClimateJustice #KnowledgePolitics #GlobalSouth #EnvironmentalResearch #ClimateChange #IntellectualHegemony #Sustainability #Equity

💃🏽 “𝗪𝗲 𝗼𝘄𝗲 𝘄𝗼𝗺𝗲𝗻 𝗮 𝗰𝗲𝗻𝘁𝘂𝗿𝘆 𝗼𝗳 𝗿𝗲𝘀𝗲𝗮𝗿𝗰𝗵.” – 𝗟𝗶𝘀𝗮 𝗠𝗼𝘀𝗰𝗼𝗻𝗶 Until 1993, women were largely excluded from clinical trials. Not by accident, but by design 👀 Women were left out of research because our biology was seen as disruptive. Hormones made the data harder to control, so the answer was to exclude us 🤷🏽♀️ The default became male & the consequences followed. What worked in the lab didn’t always work in the real world & it still doesn’t ❌ That choice didn’t stay in the past 🔙 You can still see it in drugs that fail to accurately recognise women’s symptoms, in the medtech equipment that doesn’t quite fit in a female surgeon's hand, in the research that skips over the questions that matter to half the population 🌎 As we move into an AI-first future, we’re building on data that never really saw women to begin with. The risk isn’t just bias, it’s getting things wrong at scale 📈 If women aren’t included in the data, the systems we rely on won’t just miss us, they’ll misrepresent us. We need women shaping the research, the trials, the tech – not just for fairness, but so it actually works 📊 If we want healthcare that works for women, we need to start with research that sees us clearly, not as complications, but as standard 💭 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗻𝗼𝘁 𝗹𝗼𝗼𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗽𝗲𝗰𝗶𝗮𝗹 𝘁𝗿𝗲𝗮𝘁𝗺𝗲𝗻𝘁. 𝗪𝗲’𝗿𝗲 𝗮𝘀𝗸𝗶𝗻𝗴 𝗳𝗼𝗿 𝘀𝗰𝗶𝗲𝗻𝗰𝗲 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝗹𝗲𝗰𝘁𝘀 𝗿𝗲𝗮𝗹𝗶𝘁𝘆. 𝗧𝗵𝗲𝗿𝗲’𝘀 𝗻𝗼 𝗮𝗹𝗴𝗼𝗿𝗶𝘁𝗵𝗺 𝘁𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝗰𝗮𝗻 𝗳𝗶𝘅 𝘄𝗵𝗮𝘁 𝘄𝗲 𝗿𝗲𝗳𝘂𝘀𝗲 𝘁𝗼 𝗺𝗲𝗮𝘀𝘂𝗿𝗲 📏 -- ♻ Re-share if this resonated with you. 👩🏽⚕️ Follow Dr Fiona Pathiraja-Møller for more. #womenshealth #AI #science #clinicaltrials

Together with a large group of scientists from different disciplines and regions of the world, we wrote a perspective piece with Environmental Research Letters that just came out: https://lnkd.in/dxxE4NEq It cautions against premature or top-down characterizations of areas as uninhabitable, or portrayals of large-scale climate-induced displacement as inevitable—particularly when the perspectives and preferences of affected populations are excluded. While we recognize the importance of modelling and scenario-building to assess future risks, we argue that such efforts must be grounded in local realities and include diverse forms of knowledge. We propose five guiding recommendations: (1) avoid declaring hard limits to habitability without inclusive, context-specific assessments; (2) treat model-based projections as possible, not predetermined futures; (3) reject simplistic global North/South assumptions in assessing vulnerability and mobility; (4) uphold people’s right to remain, alongside the right to move; and (5) prioritize investment in in-situ adaptation that addresses structural inequalities. These principles aim to inform reflexive and justice-oriented approaches to climate mobility and habitability research.

🚨New study on Climate and Inequality 🚨 Thrilled to share that our latest paper, "Climate Change and the Global Distribution of Wealth", has just been published in Nature Climate Change! In this work, we explore how climate change and climate policies are reshaping wealth inequality worldwide. Our findings reveal that climate impacts and investments could significantly alter the distribution of wealth, affecting everything from housing to financial assets. For instance, we show that the top 1% global wealth share could rise from around 38.5% today to 46% in 2050 if the wealthiest individuals own all the new low-carbon infrastructure. Conversely, if low-carbon investments are financed by a tax on the top 1% and then owned by governments or not-for-profit actors, the top 1% wealth share could drop to 26%. Climate change and climate investments have the potential to reshape global wealth inequalities on an unprecedented scale. It’s going to be critical to keep an eye on this. Thanks to our incredible team (Cornelia Mohren, Philip Bothe and Gregor Semieniuk) and all those who supported this work. Comments welcome! Published article : https://lnkd.in/ehQVkEQC Open-access preprint : https://lnkd.in/ePzdtCFQ

Large language models offer new opportunities for behavioural science, but their rapid evolution poses serious challenges for research rigour. We published a consensus-based reporting checklist to improve transparency, reproducibility and ethical accountability of large-language-model-based research in the behavioural sciences in Nature Human Behaviour. https://lnkd.in/e-5CwyAJ Here is a link to our checklist for research transparents: https://llm-checklist.com/ It supports researchers in clearly describing how LLMs were used, why specific methodological choices were made, and what steps were taken to ensure responsible research practices. This project was led by Stefan Feuerriegel and included a large list of expert coauthors from across numerous fields.

In our world today, almost everything is designed with men as the default. From the buildings we live in to the policies that govern us, the male perspective is too often the only one considered. This pervasive bias extends even to critical areas like medicine and safety, where the consequences can be life-threatening for women. Take, for instance, the development of drugs. Even when creating treatments specifically for women's health issues, researchers frequently test these drugs on male subjects—both animals and humans. This approach fails to account for the physiological differences between men and women, leading to medications that may be less effective, or even harmful, for women. The repercussions of this oversight are not just about discomfort or inconvenience; they can have serious, even deadly, consequences. But it doesn't stop there. Consider the car you drive. Most crash test dummies used in safety testing are modeled after the "average" male body. As a result, women are 47% more likely to suffer serious injury in a car crash than men. The seats, seatbelts, and airbags are designed to protect a male body, leaving women at a disproportionate risk of harm. This is a systemic issue that permeates nearly every aspect of our lives. The world we live in has been engineered with one gender in mind, leaving the other to navigate a landscape that often doesn't account for their needs. It's not just about fairness, it's about safety, health, and ultimately, survival. It's time for a radical shift in how we design our world. We must move beyond a one-size-fits-all approach and start considering the diverse needs of all people. This means demanding that medical research includes both men and women, that safety standards account for different body types, and that every aspect of our world, from public spaces to the products we use, reflects the reality that women are not an afterthought. Women's lives, health, and well-being should never be compromised simply because the systems in place fail to consider them. It's time to build a world that is truly inclusive, where everyone’s safety and health are prioritized, not just those of half the population. Creator: @annaakana Shot by @johnleestills Grip @meliseeta Sound @mobleywillwork Edited by @benchinapen La Gouvernance au Féminin - Women in Governance

🌍 The World Inequality Report 2026 points to accelerating inequality This year’s report reveals how deeply inequality is woven into gender, opportunity, climate vulnerability and global finance: ♀️ Women earn just 32 cents for every dollar men earn once unpaid care work is counted, despite contributing more total hours of work. 🌐 A child in Sub-Saharan Africa receives 1/40 of the education investment of a child in Europe or North America. 💸 Low-income nations still transfer net resources outward to wealthy economies limiting their fiscal space for health, education, adaptation and resilience. 🌍 Climate inequality is now one of the most defining fractures of our time. The wealthiest 10% are responsible for nearly half of global consumption emissions and 77% of emissions linked to private capital. Meanwhile, Those who emit the least are the most exposed to climate shocks. The bottom 50% of the world's population is projected to bear approximately 75% of global climate-driven income losses (relative to their income) by 2050. As climate scientist, we see these inequities play out in every dataset, every risk assessment, every early warning system. Yet the report ends with an important message: inequality is a choice. Countries that invest in redistribution, education, health, climate adaptation and fair taxation reduce inequality. Those that don’t, deepen it. #WIR2026 https://lnkd.in/euKJD-jE