GILL

GILL stands for Gendered Innovation Living Lab. It builds on the Gendered Innovations approach, in which gender issues are viewed as a resource in innovation processes.

Research Approach and Contribution

GILL develops practical solutions for everyday life. Previous approaches in gender studies have identified institutional gender-based biases and developed methods of gender analysis that enable a systematic examination of the issue within the context of technology development.

GILL builds on this foundation and develops tools and methods to ensure that this knowledge is integrated into the day-to-day work of tech companies, startup ecosystems, schools, and local communities. Practices and approaches are not only developed and made available in collaboration with users, but they are also tested in real-world settings: In 15 living labs across eight European countries, the new approaches are implemented and tested in everyday life—in software teams, startups, training programs, and school classrooms.

AOEs (Action-Oriented Experimentations) in Heilbronn

Heilbronn will host such a real-world laboratory featuring AOEs (Action-Oriented Experiments) on gender-equitable practices, led by Prof. Dr. Nicola Marsden, who also serves as the project’s scientific director. Her expertise and international visibility as an expert on the topic of technology and equal opportunity have contributed to Heilbronn University securing funding for the first time under the Horizon Europe Framework Programme (HORIZON) with the GILL project. Such EU-wide research collaborations are essential for addressing a major issue in a concerted manner in partnership with other leading international researchers.

Challenge

Although technology companies are hiring more women to reduce certain forms of gender inequality, they are neither changing their workplace culture nor making their products more gender-inclusive.

Procedure

The HHN collaborates with tech companies as a testing ground to leverage gender-specific innovation approaches in order to (a) test interventions within tech organizations aimed at transforming women's experiences in tech teams (e.g., ensuring that women are not held to different standards or assigned specific tasks based on their gender) and (b) test tools and methods in the design process to ensure that the resulting innovations do not underserved certain population groups (e.g., through the use of reflective practices in the process, participatory design, or the creation of personas that represent intersectional identities).

Goals

Engage tech companies and demonstrate how they can make gender inequality a priority in order to change their team practices, design methods, and tools, thereby retaining women in the innovation cycle and developing gender-equitable innovations. Results: Transfer of GILL R&I results to the business sector through the development of R&I policies to strengthen the resilience and competitiveness of the economy and society.

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