Gender gap in cancer research funding

Male cancer scientists and researchers receive more funding compared to their female colleagues, according to a new study involving the University of Southampton.

Published in BMJ Open the study analysed the funding trends in cancer research in the UK between the years 2000 and 2013, by the gender of the principal investigator.  

Within the European Union (EU), women represent nearly half of the workforce and more than half of all university graduates, but they are under-represented in senior positions in the workplace.

In science, research and development, the attrition rate among women exceeds that of their male counterparts at every stage of career progression, with women representing 46 per cent of PhD graduates, 33 per cent of career scientists and 22 per cent of grade A researchers (the highest posts at which research is conducted).

That study found that, across 4299 awards totalling £2.4 billion of research funding, where the lead researcher was known, around 78 per cent of total funding was awarded to male principal investigators (PIs), and 22 per cent to a female PIs.  

Grants to male PIs were 1.3 times greater than female counterparts and these apparent differences remained the same, regardless of cancer site, cancer type, stage of research, or by funder.

Similarly, the average grant value was around 38 per cent greater for men than for women leading on cancer research.

This is the first study to present detailed quantifiable differences in cancer research funding between male and female primary investigators in the UK.

It examined funding awards from a number of public and philanthropic cancer research funding bodies including the Medical Research Council, Department of Health, Biotechnology and Biological Sciences Research Council, Engineering and Physical Science Research Council, Wellcome Trust, European Commission, as well as nine members of the Association of Medical Research Charities). Cancer Research UK awards were not included. 

The study acknowledged that it was dependent on the accuracy of original investment data from the funding bodies and that they could not openly access data of private sector research funding.

Dr Michael Head, from the University of Southampton Clinical Informatics Research Unit who took part in the study, commented: “There are known and clear inequities in science and academia with regards gender. Our research provides further evidence in quantifying those differences, specifically here in relation to distribution of research funding and the lack of female lead researchers across large and diverse areas of health research such as cancer and infectious disease, which was previously published. Universities are addressing this issue, for example through initiatives such as Athena Swann and, locally also via mentoring programmes, but there is much work to do in establishing equal opportunities and societal culture shifts.”