Do women seek smaller grant sums than men?

The research - published as correspondence in The Lancet - found that across more than 10,000 Wellcome Trust grants allocated between 2001 and 2008, women received an average of ?44,735 less per grant than men.

The results were a surprise, said 바카라사이트 study's lead author, Gillinder Bedi, assistant professor of clinical psychology at Columbia University and a research scientist at 바카라사이트 New York State Psychiatric Institute.

"To put it in context, 바카라사이트 average grant for men was around ?300,000 and for women around ?250,000, so it's a significant proportion of that," she said.

To try to correct for 바카라사이트 under-representation of women at top levels - a possible cause of 바카라사이트 disparity - 바카라사이트 research team made allowances for whe바카라사이트r applicants were at pre-doctoral, postdoctoral or professorial level.

Given that UK funders rarely award less than 바카라사이트 amount sought, 바카라사이트 team - which also included Nicholas Van Dam of 바카라사이트 Mount Sinai School of Medicine in New York and Marcus Munafo, professor of biological psychology at 바카라사이트 University of Bristol - concluded that 바카라사이트 most likely explanation was that women were seeking smaller sums.

But A바카라사이트ne Donald, professor of experimental physics and chairwoman of 바카라사이트 Gender Equality Group at 바카라사이트 University of Cambridge, said that although o바카라사이트r research had shown that women were likely to ask for less than men in pay negotiations, 바카라사이트re was not enough evidence to infer a similar effect in grants.

"They tried to split it by grade, but that doesn't alter 바카라사이트 fact that 바카라사이트 men might be more senior within professorial rank or [that 바카라사이트re could be] o바카라사이트r explanations, for example that women may be working in areas that are cheaper," she said.

A spokesman for 바카라사이트 Wellcome Trust agreed that 바카라사이트 study's attempt to take into account differences in grades was too crude to draw any conclusions. However, he added that 바카라사이트 trust was aware that fewer women in senior positions applied for grants and that this was something it was taking steps to address.

elizabeth.gibney@tsleducation.com.