Female scientists less likely to get a high grant proposal score due to wording

> Female scientists are 16% less likely than men to get a high score on their grant proposal, and new research suggests word choice might be the reason why.

[...]

> According to the researchers, women used “narrower” words that are “highly concentrated in a small number of topics.” Male applicants, on the other hand, tended to use “broad” words, which “appear at similar rates in all topic areas,” the study stated.

> Women’s use of topic-specific words lowers their chance of getting a high score from reviewers compared to men.

> "Even after accounting for the quantity and quality of male and female applicants, there is still a disparity in outcomes that favors men over women,” Kolev said. “This is a problem not only because of the general issue of underrepresentation of women in science and technology, but also because this disparity strongly suggests that the reviewers are allocating funding inefficiently and failing to make the best use of their organization’s resources."

> In fact, the researchers found that women who received grants during the time of the study “may well generate a greater ‘return’ on resources compared to their male counterparts."

> Murray said the burden lies equally with funders and applicants. Kolev said while female applicants could alter their communication style in pursuit of grant funding, doing so carries the potential risk of undermining the quality of their research.