(Science|Business) Explained: How the MSCA is close to achieving gender balance

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The Marie Skłodowska-Curie Actions (MSCA) fund a higher proportion of women than any other parts of the EU’s Framework Programme for research and innovation. Insiders and former beneficiaries of Horizon Europe’s researcher training and mobility scheme tell us why.

Five years into Horizon Europe, women account for 44.4% of all successful applicants to the MSCA, up from 42.1% in Horizon 2020. The highest percentage, 46.5%, is in the Cofund action, which supports regional, national and international programmes for training and career development. Next come the doctoral networks at 45.8%, the staff exchanges at 44.0% and the postdoctoral fellowships at 43.2%.

Overall, the highest number of researchers participating in the MSCA came from Spain, of which 1,406 were men and 1,362 were women. Italy recorded 1,316 men and 1,127 women, and France 1,133 men and 925 women. 

And while the top 10 participating countries all counted more men, parity is closer in the MSCA than in the whole of Horizon Europe, where only 38% of grantees are women. The European Research Council performs particularly badly, with women making up only 33.5% grant recipients between 2019 and 2023.

Inclusivity

Those involved in the MSCA point to a long tradition of support for women researchers. 

“Career development support and gender equality has been part of its focus since the creation of the Marie Curie fellowships in the 1990s,” said Brian Cahill, managing director of the Career@BI project at the Hochschule Bielefeld and an independent expert evaluator for Horizon Europe. 

For Irene Castellano Pellicena, who did her PhD with an MSCA doctoral networks grant and is now a board member of the Marie Curie Alumni Association, the MSCA’s commitment to gender equality stems from its inclusive policies and structural support. This ranges from gender-equal recruitment to special needs allowances, which are “relatively unique in research funding,” she said.

“This success isn’t accidental; it is the direct result of deliberate, structural policy choices,” said Mostafa Moonir Shawrav, executive director of the alumni association. “The MSCA actively dismantle systemic career barriers by offering robust family allowances, granting maternity and parental leave with fellowship extensions.”

Glass ceiling

According to Cahill, another possible reason for the high proportion of women receiving MSCA grants is that most of its schemes come before they start facing structural barriers to accessing top-tier jobs. “If there is a glass ceiling in research, maybe it comes after PhDs or postdoctoral positions,” he said. “Most other Horizon Europe grants are held by principal investigators, who have tenure. Hiring at professorial level is above the glass ceiling.”

Castellano Pellicena agreed. “As an early-career programme, the MSCA benefit from a relatively strong pool of women applicants, given recent improvements in gender balance at graduate and postdoctoral levels. Yet, greater attention must now be directed toward leadership and decision-making positions,” she said. “As women progress in academia, their representation declines.”

The European Commission asks all Horizon Europe applicant organisations to have a gender action plan. Since this criterion was introduced in 2021, the share of women leading consortia has increased to 31%, against 23% under Horizon 2020. Gender balance in research teams, including among leading roles, is also used as a tie-breaker between evenly scored proposals. 

For Castellano Pellicena, this is “a positive first step, but further initiatives are needed.”

The Commission, which tried in 2025 to scrap Horizon Europe rules on gender equality plans before walking the idea back, is due to adopt a plan for supporting women in research and innovation later this year.

In the meantime, Horizon Europe features several initiatives dedicated specifically to women, such as Women TechEU, which backs women-led deep-tech start-ups; EmpoWomen, which does the same in the Widening area of countries considered lagging in research and innovation; and the annual European Prize for Women Innovators, which is jointly awarded by the European Innovation Council and the European Institute of Innovation and Technology.