The Finkbeiner test, named for the science journalist Ann Finkbeiner,[1] is a checklist to help science journalists avoid gender bias in articles about women in science.[2][3] It asks writers to avoid describing women scientists in terms of stereotypically feminine traits, such as their family arrangements.
The Finkbeiner test has been linked to affirmative action, because writing can cause readers to view women in science as different from men in negative or unfair ways.[2] The test helps avoid gender bias in science reporting similarly to various tests that focus on under-representation of marginalized groups in different career fields.[4]