University Study Finds Huge Gender Gap in Funding for Infectious Disease Research

A study of research funding in Great Britain found that women scientists conducting infectious disease research are less likely than men to receive grants and that the average grant award to women who are funded is significantly less than the average grant award for men in the field.

The study was led by Michael G. Head of University College London. The results showed that of the more than 6,000 grants for infectious disease research between 1997 and 2010, less than one quarter went to research teams headed by women. The total amount of grants awarded to research teams led by men was £1.8 billion. For woman-led research teams, the total funding was £488 million.

The average grant for a study led by a woman during this period was £125,556. For research teams led by men, the average grant was £179,389, a difference of 43 percent.

The authors of the study published in the online journal BMJ Open warned that their data does not prove gender bias on the part of those making the grants. But they urged additional research to discover why such a gender discrepancy exists.

The paper, “Differences in Research Funding for Women Scientists: A Systematic Comparison of UK Investments in Global Infectious Disease Research During 1997–2010,” can be read here.