Female researchers receive only one-third of NIH R01 grants, research finds

From 2012 to 2022, female researchers were awarded only one-third of National Institutes of Health Research Project Grants (R01 grants), according to a study presented at the annual meeting of the American Society of Hematology, held from Dec. 9 to 12 in San Diego.

Sara Khan, D.O., from HCA Healthcare/USF Morsani College of Medicine in Longwood, Florida, and colleagues assessed temporal trends in gender disparities for receipt of R01 grants awarded by the National Institutes of Health (fiscal years 2012 to 2022; 250,031 grants).

The researchers found that women (32.9 percent) received fewer grants than men (67.1 percent). Over time, there was no significant change observed in R01 grants awarded to men (16,221 to 15,601), while the number significantly increased for women (6,865 to 9,339). In 2012, the National Institute of General Medical Sciences, National Institute of Neurological Disorders and Stroke, and National Institute of Biomedical Imaging and Bioengineering (NIBIB) awarded less than 25 percent of total grants to women.

By 2022, the NIBIB had the most extensive gender gap, with women awarded 23 percent of grants. At both time points, the National Institute of Minority Health and Disparities and National Institute of Nursing Research awarded more grants to women than men (52 and 74 percent, respectively, in 2012). By 2022, the National Institute of Child Health and Human Development and National Center for Complementary and Integrative Health were also awarding more than half of their grants to women.

"While this remains a systemic and multifaceted issue, identifying these areas of gender disparity will enable targeted efforts to bridge this gap and advance gender equality," the authors write.