Best Paper Award on Gender Economics

Benefit

You get a one-off prize of 2,500 EUR gross for an outstanding research paper on gender economics. That means economic research on differences and inequalities between women and men. Two prizes of 2,500 EUR each are handed out. One of them preferably goes to a paper focused on education. The award is given by the UniCredit Foundation, the charitable foundation of the UniCredit banking group. Winners may be asked to present their findings at the foundation's workshops or events.

Eligibility

• Who you are: You are a researcher, including PhD students (researchers still working towards their doctorate). You either hold citizenship of a country where UniCredit operates, or you work or study for a PhD at a university or institution in one of those countries.
• Countries: The UniCredit area covers Austria, Bosnia and Herzegovina, Bulgaria, Croatia, the Czech Republic, Germany, Hungary, Italy, Poland, Romania, Serbia, Slovakia and Slovenia.
• Field: Your paper is on gender economics. One of the two prizes preferably goes to a paper about education.
• Age: You were born after 1990. The limit extends by one year per child for women, and by the documented length of parental leave per child for men.
• The paper: It was not published before 2025 and is written in English. You may submit more than one paper. Co-authored papers are allowed, but all co-authors must also be born after 1990.

How to apply

You submit your paper, CV and a copy of your ID through the online platform at bestpapergender.org. No other route is accepted. The deadline is 15 May 2026 at 23:59 CET, and winners are notified by early July 2026. The selection committee may invite candidates for an interview or seminar.

How realistic are your chances?

Only two prizes are given each year, and the judging panel is made up of senior economics professors. So the bar for scientific quality is high and the competition is real. On the other hand, the field is tightly cut: you must be an early-career researcher tied to one of the 13 UniCredit countries with recent work specifically on gender economics. If you clearly fit that niche and have a strong, publishable paper, especially on education, your prospects are realistic.