Women are underrepresented in the biomedical research workforce. Only 30% of funded investigators are women.1,2 Junior faculty women have fewer peer-reviewed publications than men3,4 and are more often on clinician-educator (vs traditional) tracks.5 One reason may be differences in early-career institutional support, which to our knowledge has not been previously examined.
Application data from 2 New England biomedical research programs administered by the Medical Foundation Division of Health Resources in Action were analyzed. One program accepted applicants in a single field of study within 5 years of initial faculty appointment; the second program invited institutions to submit 2 basic science applicants within 2 years of initial appointment.