The impact of enhancing early career funding opportunities for female scientists on research performance

Abstract Female scientific and technological talents are vital to scientific advancement worldwide. Governments and research organizations around the world have applied more inclusive and flexible time restrictions for female scientists. The National Natural Science Foundation of China extended the application age limit of the Young Scientists Fund (YSF) for female scientists from 35 to 40. Based on the unique dataset of 416 female applicants to the YSF and the model of difference-in-differences, we found that the policy significantly improved the quantity and quality of the female applicants’ scientific publications during a 15-year period. The policy’s impact is more pronounced among more competitive institutions and research fields with higher proportions of women. Furthermore, the impact varies by the age at which female scientists are exposed to the policy. The policy impact can be explained by the increased collaboration opportunities. The study may provide instructive and feasible guidance for empowering women in science.