Gender policy

Misostenido is committed to equality policies that promote true equality between women and men—and, more broadly, respect for the diversity of gender identities and expressions—within our scientific and professional community, as well as in society as a whole, and therefore adopts the following good publication practices:

1. Inclusive and Non-Sexist Language

Misostenido advocates the use of non-sexist and inclusive language, and encourages authors to write their articles bearing in mind the fundamental right to gender equality and non-discriminatory treatment.

Authors are encouraged to:

• avoid using sexist language or language that renders any gender invisible,
• use inclusive language (e.g. ‘people’, ‘professionals’, ‘participants’, etc.),
• and review titles, abstracts, keywords, tables and figures to ensure they are consistent with these principles.

2. Including a Sex/Gender Perspective in Research
Misostenido’s editorial policies include specific recommendations for authors to:

• include, where relevant, sex/gender analysis that addresses the significance of these variables in:
• the research design,
• the methodological approach (inclusion/exclusion criteria, description of the sample),
• the presentation of the results (disaggregated analyses where appropriate),
• and the discussion of the findings.
• in their conclusions, consider any potential differences or inequalities related to sex/gender and other diversity variables (age, sociocultural context, functional diversity, etc.), which are particularly relevant in studies of music therapy applied to specific populations.

3. Gender Perspective in Peer Review

Misostenido adopts a gender perspective in its manuscript review process and review reports. To this end:

• Specific instructions are provided for reviewers to help them assess whether the articles:
• include, where relevant, a sex/gender-disaggregated analysis,
• address the significance of these variables in the research design,
• consider their impact on the results, discussion and conclusions.
• Reviewers are asked to highlight any significant omissions in this regard and to suggest specific improvements where a gender perspective is required but has not been properly taken into account.

4. Composition of the Editorial and Review Bodies

Misostenido undertakes to:

• promote gender balance in its governing bodies, editorial board, scientific committee and review team,
• and periodically review the composition of these bodies in order to curb potential bias and promote the equal participation of women and men, as well as people with diverse backgrounds in the field of music therapy and related disciplines.

The journal will ensure that a significant proportion of the reviewers assessing articles are women and will apply open and inclusive criteria in the recruitment of experts from different geographical and professional backgrounds.

5. Identification of Authors and Description of Samples

Misostenido:

• includes the full names of the authors of the articles it publishes, avoiding ambiguous initials that make it difficult to identify gender where this may help to assess equality in scientific authorship.
• will ensure that the abstract and main body of research studies accurately specify:
• whether the representative samples of the population studied include people of different sexes/genders,
• and how this has been taken into account in the analysis and interpretation of the results.

Through these policies, Misostenido upholds its commitment to greater fairness, inclusivity and representation in science, in line with the ethical and human values that underpin the practice of music therapy.