Gender Disparity in Grants and Awards at the National Institute of Health

Beenish Safdar; Sadiq Naveed; Amna Mohyud Din Chaudhary; Sundas Saboor; Muhammad Zeshan; Faisal Khosa

doi:10.7759/cureus.14644

Gender Disparity in Grants and Awards at the National Institute of Health

Cureus. 2021 Apr 23;13(4):e14644. doi: 10.7759/cureus.14644.

Authors

Beenish Safdar¹, Sadiq Naveed², Amna Mohyud Din Chaudhary³, Sundas Saboor⁴, Muhammad Zeshan⁵, Faisal Khosa⁶

Affiliations

¹ Graduate Medical Education, John T Mather Memorial Hospital, Port Jefferson, USA.
² Psychiatry, Hartford Hospital, Institute of Living, Hartford, USA.
³ Psychiatry, Nishtar Medical College and Hospital, Multan, PAK.
⁴ Department of Psychiatry, Khyber Medical University, Peshawar, PAK.
⁵ Department of Psychiatry, Rutgers University, Newark, USA.
⁶ Radiology, Vancouver General Hospital, Vancouver, CAN.

Abstract

Objective The National Institute of Health (NIH) supports the academic career of scientists across the United States (U.S.). It promotes and sponsors scientists in conducting wide-ranging clinical and basic science research. Depending on the duration, research type, and budget, there are various types of grants awarded by NIH. Despite considerable advancement in biomedical sciences, female researchers remain underrepresented in obtaining NIH funding. Through this study, we aim to highlight the gender trends in NIH funding and grants. By doing this, we aim to facilitate effective future policymaking to help achieve gender parity in NIH grants and awards. Methods The data were obtained from the NIH Research Portfolio Online Reporting Tool (RePORT). The extracted data by gender were tabulated showing percentages of females as Research Grant Investigators, Research Career Development Award Recipients and Kirschstein-National Research Service Award (NRSA) Trainees and Fellows, recipients of Research Grants, Research Project Grants (RPGs), and R01 equivalent grants including types 1 or 2, over two decades (1999-2019). Absolute percentage change was also calculated and included in the tables. Results The percentage of females as NIH Research Grant Investigators has increased at centers, research centers as well as for RPGs and Small Business Innovation Research and Small Business Technology Transfer (SBIR/STTR) programs. For Research Career Development Award Recipients and Kirschstein-NRSA Trainees and Fellows, the proportion of female pre-doctoral institutional trainees, post-doctoral fellows, post-doctoral institutional trainees, mentored research career awardees, and other research career awardees have steadily increased. However, there was a decrease in the percentage of female pre-doctoral fellow awardees. The percentage of females receiving all RPGs, R01-New (type 1) and R01-Renewal (type 2) grants has also decreased. Conclusion Despite an overall increase in the percentage of female researchers successfully receiving NIH grants and awards, they continue to lag compared to their male counterparts. With the increasing number of female doctoral graduates, it is imperative to address this disparity in NIH funding.

Keywords: academic productivity; academic promotion; female researcher; gender; gender disparity; nih funding; nih funding gender disparity; research career.