A systematic analysis of UK cancer research funding by gender of primary investigator
A systematic analysis of UK cancer research funding by gender of primary investigator
Objectives: To categorically describe cancer research funding in the UK by gender of primary investigator (PIs).
Design: Systematic analysis of all open-access data.
Methods: Data about public and philanthropic cancer research funding awarded to UK institutions between 2000 and 2013 were obtained from several sources. Fold differences were used to compare total investment, award number, mean and median award value between male and female PIs. Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to determine statistically significant associations between PI gender and median grant value.Results: Of the studies included in our analysis, 2890 (69%) grants with a total value of £1.82 billion (78%) were awarded to male PIs compared with 1296 (31%) grants with a total value of £512 million (22%) awarded to female PIs. Male PIs received 1.3 times the median award value of their female counterparts (P<0.001). These apparent absolute and relative differences largely persisted regardless of subanalyses.
Conclusions: We demonstrate substantial differences in cancer research investment awarded by gender. Female PIs clearly and consistently receive less funding than their male counterparts in terms of total investment, the number of funded awards, mean funding awarded and median funding awarded.
Zhou, Charlie D.
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Head, Michael G.
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Marshall, Dominic C.
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Gilbert, Barnabus J.
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El-Harasis, Majd
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Raine, Rosalind
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O'Connor, Henrietta
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Atun, Rifat
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Maruthappu, Mahiben
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1 May 2018
Zhou, Charlie D.
25469caf-99bf-4ed3-aa02-24542c18368a
Head, Michael G.
67ce0afc-2fc3-47f4-acf2-8794d27ce69c
Marshall, Dominic C.
383e3f3c-d866-422b-8db3-5453716bf081
Gilbert, Barnabus J.
ea7606a5-c922-4eba-82d8-ddfcdeb30316
El-Harasis, Majd
0a71b39d-7d28-4a29-9f94-34e95eb1ca20
Raine, Rosalind
f3679e31-b366-4ee3-b0e5-2a4f7950c0c0
O'Connor, Henrietta
2aa32408-4aa8-4ead-a350-22e82093bafb
Atun, Rifat
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Maruthappu, Mahiben
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Zhou, Charlie D., Head, Michael G., Marshall, Dominic C., Gilbert, Barnabus J., El-Harasis, Majd, Raine, Rosalind, O'Connor, Henrietta, Atun, Rifat and Maruthappu, Mahiben
(2018)
A systematic analysis of UK cancer research funding by gender of primary investigator.
BMJ Open, 8, [e018625].
(doi:10.1136/bmjopen-2017-018625).
Abstract
Objectives: To categorically describe cancer research funding in the UK by gender of primary investigator (PIs).
Design: Systematic analysis of all open-access data.
Methods: Data about public and philanthropic cancer research funding awarded to UK institutions between 2000 and 2013 were obtained from several sources. Fold differences were used to compare total investment, award number, mean and median award value between male and female PIs. Mann-Whitney U tests were performed to determine statistically significant associations between PI gender and median grant value.Results: Of the studies included in our analysis, 2890 (69%) grants with a total value of £1.82 billion (78%) were awarded to male PIs compared with 1296 (31%) grants with a total value of £512 million (22%) awarded to female PIs. Male PIs received 1.3 times the median award value of their female counterparts (P<0.001). These apparent absolute and relative differences largely persisted regardless of subanalyses.
Conclusions: We demonstrate substantial differences in cancer research investment awarded by gender. Female PIs clearly and consistently receive less funding than their male counterparts in terms of total investment, the number of funded awards, mean funding awarded and median funding awarded.
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e018625.full
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Accepted/In Press date: 3 November 2017
e-pub ahead of print date: 30 April 2018
Published date: 1 May 2018
Identifiers
Local EPrints ID: 420320
URI: http://eprints.soton.ac.uk/id/eprint/420320
ISSN: 2044-6055
PURE UUID: c6d28fa3-9fea-47c9-bc51-89ce47e53965
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Date deposited: 04 May 2018 16:30
Last modified: 16 Mar 2024 04:21
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Contributors
Author:
Charlie D. Zhou
Author:
Dominic C. Marshall
Author:
Barnabus J. Gilbert
Author:
Majd El-Harasis
Author:
Rosalind Raine
Author:
Henrietta O'Connor
Author:
Rifat Atun
Author:
Mahiben Maruthappu
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