The Times Higher Ed. have recently published an article detailing the results of the Research Councils UK findings on how successful women are in research bids.
The findings are particularly remarkable when looking at female success rates for large grants. In the age cohort 50 to 59 years of age, women are about half as likely as men to be successful.
Even in the lower age range the success of men bidding for grants under one million pounds exceeds women. The male gender bias is apparent across all age ranges, widening the gap as scientific careers progress, arguably.
This is, as far as we know, the first time that such research grant data has been published with gender segmentation. It is truly shocking to think that young women scientists, just at the start of their career, are doomed to an intellectual life hampered by lack of resource and opportunity.
Should this be a 21st Century state of affairs…now we know?
You can find the original Times Higher Ed. web article here.
You can find the Research Council data here.