Deconstructing Neurosexism is an established project at CIMCYC involving researchers across various stages of their academic careers. The project examines neurosexism—specifically, how biological determinism arguments have repeatedly been used throughout history to justify social and gender disparities between men and women. Neurosexism manifests in neuroscience research that compares the male and female nervous or endocrine systems without accounting for crucial contextual variables, such as psychosocial factors, to explain differences in behavior and cognitive abilities and, ultimately, rationalize social inequality.
Objectives & Activities
The goal of this project is to raise awareness about neurosexism and how to combat it, while highlighting both the strengths and limitations of applying research to the study of biological sex differences. To achieve this, the initiative delivers two primary types of outreach tailored to key audiences:
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Youth Workshops: Tailored for teenagers, these interactive workshops use engaging activities to build knowledge and critical thinking tools. The program empowers students to serve as agents of change for gender equality—both personally and in their future careers, inside and outside the classroom. Sessions occur at local schools or at CIMCYC during student visits. -
Adult & Academic Workshops: Designed for general adult audiences as well as active researchers, these sessions raise awareness of neurosexist practices while delving into scientific and meta-scientific issues (such as flaws in study design and analysis, sample size and statistical power, HARKing, and open science principles). They highlight how these methodological issues perpetuate gender stereotypes still common in scientific literature.
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Public Engagement: Interactive workshops and talks at science outreach events, including European Researchers' Night, the Granada Book Fair, PsychoBeers and NeuroBeers.
Collaborators & Funding
This project is co-funded by the Vice-Rectorate for Equality, Inclusion, and Social Sustainability, the Department of Experimental Psychology, and CIMCYC at the University of Granada.
