July 6, 2026
New RoRI study finds no gender differences in funding rates – but warns equal numbers can mask bias
Global data shows balanced success rates, but women still account for just 36% of applicants
A new large-scale study published by the Research on Research Institute (RoRI) has examined gender differences in funding based on data of over 70,000 applications in 43 funding programmes from 8 funders across the globe.
Led by RoRI Senior Research Fellow Vincent Traag, the study concludes that there is no clear evidence of systemic gender differences in funding success rates. However, the authors also clarify that even if funding rates do not show gender differences, there are still clear gender differences in the system overall, with women representing only 36% of all applicants.
Moreover, the paper warns against concluding that gender bias is absent simply because funding rates appear equal. The authors demonstrate a statistical conundrum: controlling for metrics like past publication productivity or institutional prestige can inadvertently mask prior inequalities. If a gender bias already exists in hiring or retention, these earlier biases can mask potential biases in funding rates, creating an illusion of fairness. Therefore, a gender-balanced funding sheet cannot be interpreted as conclusive evidence of an absence of bias in grant evaluation.
By analyzing funding bodies that changed their selection criteria during the study period, the project identified some practical levers for policy intervention. For instance, when the Research Council of Norway (RCN) removed the mandatory interview stage from its Young Research Talent programme in 2020, the funding rate for women increased slightly relative to men. This supports previous findings that face-to-face interview rounds and associated travel can pose disproportionate hurdles for women due to unequal societal caregiving responsibilities.
Ultimately, the report concludes that gender-based corrections in funding may not be warranted based on these findings. Instead, the authors recommend focusing on upstream factors, such as robust parental leave policies, part-time grant flexibilities, and fairer hiring and retention practices to support researchers at the early-career stages where the gender gap is more likely to emerge.
This multi-funder analysis was conducted in collaboration with RoRI partners: the Australian Research Council (ARC), Canadian Institutes of Health Research (CIHR), Dutch Research Council (NWO), Michael Smith Health Research BC, Novo Nordisk Foundation (NNF), Research Council Norway (RCN), United Kingdom Research & Innovation (UKRI), and Wellcome Trust.
