This kind of comments occur more commonly than you think. I am sure it was unintentional, but it still made me feel very uncomfortable and I was glad when the workshop groups were dissolved.

At the end I just said: I was lucky. I wish I had not said that. I should have stood my ground. I deserve this fellowship as much as anyone else. I might be awkward, have an accent, be a woman, prioritize my family, but I put everything I had on this proposal and it paid off.

A torrent of follow up questions came my way: how long since you finished you PhD, how many papers have you published, what is your field of expertise... I could see an eye roll when I said I am a paleontologist. I felt the need to enlighten them on my research project.