In 2010, the IOM released a report that found that, among other things, data not being reported by sex had slowed progress in women’s health. The number of women participating in clinical trials has increased over the last two decades, though they are still underrepresented. Even when women are included in these trials, however, the results are often not analyzed separately by sex.

On August 30, 2011, the IOM’s Board on Population Health and Public Health Practice hosted a workshop to address the recommendation in Women’s Health Research: Progress, Pitfalls, and Promise that journals should adopt a guideline that, where appropriate, articles report the outcomes of clinical trials report on men and women separately. The workshop focus went beyond clinical trials, to look at sex-specific reporting in all types of scientific research. Speakers at the workshop discussed the need for sex-specific reporting, potential barriers to such reporting, as well as what must be done to report sex-specific results.

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