The goal of this commentary is to raise awareness and discussion about how to best consider and evaluate possible sex effects in the context of human genetic studies. Herein, we presented arguments for why sex differences are important to consider in the context of genetics, established evidence that sex differences are not being considered, and provided compelling counter-arguments to the traditional arguments for not considering sex differences in human genetics. Including sex in the design, analysis, and reporting of results will improve the transparency, rigor, and generalizability of genetic association studies, accelerating scientific progress. The inclusion of sex in genetic studies will ultimately improve our understanding of health and disease for both women and men.
