GRANteD is a project funded by the European Union’s Horizon 2020 research and innovation program. It will investigate the occurrence and causes of gender bias in the allocation of research grants.

The issues of (potential) gender bias and associated gender inequalities in grant allocation processes have been on the policy agenda for decades now.
The findings of Wenneras and Wold’s study in 1997 for example show that female applicants need to be 2.5 times more productive than men in order to receive the same assessment score as their male counterparts. While various (potential) sources of bias are mentioned in the literature, a great number of studies argue that gender bias does not exist. Nevertheless, grants play an increasing role in research careers which are at the same time characterized by strong gender inequalities and disparities.

More empirical evidence on the prevalence of gender bias in research funding and on its possible consequences on careers of male and female researchers is necessary to shape a more gender-fair research funding system. The GRANteD project will contribute to this endeavour through identifying factors that cause gender imbalances before, during, and after grant submission. GRANteD will identify the occurrence, dynamics and causes of gender bias in grant allocation processes and its consequences for the researchers’ careers. A main objective of the project is to develop a sound methodological approach that is able to handle the complex nature of the problem under investigation.

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