Gender Effects in the Peer Reviews of Grant Proposals: A Comprehensive Meta-Analysis Comparing Traditional and Multilevel Approaches

Peer review is valued in higher education, but also widely criticized in terms of potential biases, particularly gender. We evaluate gender differences in peer reviews of grant applications, extending Bornmann, Mutz, and Daniel’s meta-analyses that reported small gender differences in favor of men ( d = .04), but a substantial heterogeneity in effect sizes that compromised the robustness of their results. We contrast these findings with the most...