There is one prediction about coronavirus that can be made with confidence: when a vaccine is developed there won’t be a male and female version. Evidence suggests we need two, as we’ve known for some time that there is a sex-specific response to vaccines. Women have more severe adverse reactions and develop higher antibody responses. Without a male and female version of the vaccine, women will be given suboptimal treatment, potentially paying with their lives.

Underpinning my prediction about a sex-specific vaccine is the history of science. To date, our understanding of health has developed through a male lens, based on studies of men, carried out by men. In 2020, this is nothing short of a scandal, albeit one that rarely gets an airing.

It wouldn’t be so bad if we used intelligence gathered from previous global virus threats. With the last global pandemic, Sars, the World Health Organisation pointed to the gender data gap, specifically the lack of systematic tracking of outcomes for pregnant women, despite knowing that Sars symptoms were particularly severe for this group. Some gender data is available for coronavirus infections – whether this data is just collected or intended to be used to inform interventions like a vaccine, is still unclear.

More broadly, there is more research and knowledge about erectile dysfunction despite affecting only one in five men compared with the nine in 10 women experiencing premenstrual syndrome.

Despite all the talk of equality and sexism, we are still in a position where we know far more about the health of men than women, even though women make up 50 per cent of the population. It was only in 1993 that women were required to be included in research trials. Prior to that, women were viewed as either too complex or risky, particularly those of a childbearing age. But it took until 2016 for academic journals like The Lancet to sign up to guidelines that encouraged researchers to report sex differences in published trials. It’s depressing to think that even when research trials included women, the results of the trial weren’t disaggregated by sex and journal editors didn’t insist on this basic detail being reported.

From cancer to coronavirus, there isn’t an area of health research or science more broadly that isn’t gender blind. Science, it seems, is institutionally sexist. Acknowledging this is the first step towards change, but it’s not just about ensuring women are included in trials – we need more women in senior research roles. This is about more than a nod to equality; it will enhance our collective knowledge. As it stands, men monopolise senior research, journal editor and research grant positions. Unlike commerce, which has set targets to redress the gender imbalance among chief executives, science has no such target. It doesn’t matter how intelligent or aware a senior man in such a position is, they can never fully understand a woman’s health or experience of a health intervention.

Increasing the number of women in senior positions would provide a perspective and insight that is often missing about women’s health and the male-orientated treatments provided to them. Most medicines are tested on men, consequently, dosing is calibrated on the average male physique despite clear differences between the sexes. This also leaves a clinical blind spot as to any female-specific adverse reactions which only come to light after a drug is approved, leaving women at greater risk than men exposed to the same medication.

Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Show all 11 1 /11 Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Ben Gurion International airport, Israel Empty El Al Israel Airlines check-in counters are seen at Ben Gurion International airport in Lod, near Tel Aviv, Israel February 27, 2020. REUTERS/Amir Cohen AMIR COHEN Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing This picture taken on February 14, 2020 shows two men wearing face masks walking through a nearly empty terminal at Daxing international airport in Beijing, as travel has ground to a halt in the wake of the the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) NICOLAS ASFOURI AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Taoyuan International Airport, Taiwan epa08238057 The empty departure hall of the No 2 Terminal at the Taoyuan International Airport in Taoyuan City, northen Taiwan, 22 February 2020. The coronavirus causing COVID-19 disease which originated from Wuhan, China, has devastated Taiwan's tourism and aviation industries, forcing airlines to cancel flights and travel agencies to lay off workers or close. EPA/DAVID CHANG DAVID CHANG EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam A woman walks in the nearly empty arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 27, 2020, as the number of air travellers has plummeted amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images) MLADEN ANTONOV AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo A man wearing protective face mask, following the outbreak of the coronavirus, pushes his luggage past desks, closed for construction, at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov STOYAN NENOV Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Changsha Huanghua International Airport, China A woman wearing a face mask stands in the empty luggage collection hall at the airport in Changsha, Hunan Province, as the country is hit by an outbreak of a new coronavirus, China, January 27, 2020. REUTERS/Thomas Peter THOMAS PETER Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China epaselect epa08194188 A passenger wearing a protective mask stands in the empty hall of Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China, 04 February 2020 (issued 05 February 2020). Major global airlines have canceled their flights to mainland China to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed at least 493 people and infected more that 24,000, mostly in China. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY ROMAN PILIPEY EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Daxing International Airport, Beijing This picture taken on February 14, 2020 shows a salesclerk wearing a protective face mask and gloves (R) at an empty duty free shop at Daxing international airport in Beijing, as travel has ground to a halt in the wake of the the COVID-19 coronavirus outbreak. (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI / AFP) (Photo by NICOLAS ASFOURI/AFP via Getty Images) NICOLAS ASFOURI AFP via Getty Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Haneda Airport, Tokyo An empty departures gate is pictured at Haneda Airport in Tokyo, Japan, March 4, 2020. REUTERS/Stoyan Nenov STOYAN NENOV Reuters Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China epa08194181 Passengers wearing protective masks sit in the empty hall of Shanghai Pudong Airport in Shanghai, China, 04 February 2020 (issued 05 February 2020). Major global airlines have canceled their flights to and from mainland China to contain the spread of the deadly coronavirus, which has so far killed at least 493 people and infected more that 24,000, mostly in China. EPA/ROMAN PILIPEY ROMAN PILIPEY EPA Airports empty as Coronavirus affects aviation industry Noi Bai International Airport, Vietnam Passengers with protective facemasks walk with their luggage in the empty arrival hall of Noi Bai International Airport in Hanoi on February 27, 2020, as the number of air travellers has plummeted amid fears over the spread of the COVID-19 coronavirus. (Photo by Mladen ANTONOV / AFP) (Photo by MLADEN ANTONOV/AFP via Getty Images) MLADEN ANTONOV AFP via Getty

So, although women dominate the early-career levels of research, it is their male peers who are four times more likely to become professors. Senior academics decide not only what is researched but are responsible for designing the method of investigation. So junior female researchers have limited influence over research topics and the ability to highlight any gender bias in the research design or reporting. Most junior researchers are employed using short contracts, dependent on their senior, usually male, colleagues to ensure their career continues and develops. These elements foster subservience, rather than challenging the status quo, which takes away from the need to tackle this systemic sexism.

We need the brightest and the best minds in science. Excluding half the population is not just morally wrong, it wastes talent and is as detrimental to men as it is to women. While a vaccine will offer protection from coronavirus, we unfortunately can’t be inoculated against sexism, a social virus that’s proven to be so resistant that it has stunted the advancement of science.