Barriers to research on sex and gender: Lessons from the Sullivan Review

The Sullivan Review, led by Professor Alice Sullivan of University College London, was published in March 2025. This related to questions of the collection of data on sex and gender by public institutions; the review argued there are flawed processes and decisions made as a result of bracketing out of biological sex.

The second part of the review focuses on issues to do with data collection and processing, research ethics and wider inhibiting factors including self-censorship, bullying and harassment, barriers to career progression, and other forms of discrimination, for academics and others whose work challenges orthodoxies relating to gender identity.

In this event, Alice Sullivan will give a paper on part 2 of the review, then there will be responses by a range of panellists with relevant expertise and knowledge: Sallie Baxendale, Professor of Clinical Neuropsychology at University College London; Sir Anthony Finkelstein, President of City St George’s; Vanessa Gash, Professor of Sociology at City St George’s; and Jon Pike, Professor of Philosophy at the Open University.

The debate will be chaired by Nick Hillman OBE, director of the Higher Education Policy Institute since 2014. The event will foreground not only the specific focus of the Sullivan Review, but wider issues relating to data, research and academic freedom.

The event is hosted by the School of Policy and Global Affairs and the Finsbury Institute, City St George’s. It will be introduced by the two convenors, Ian Pace, Professor of Music, Culture and Society at City St George’s, and Professor Diana Beech, chair of the Finsbury Institute.