Original articleClinical endoscopyGender differences in gastroenterology and hepatology authorship and editorial boards
Graphical abstract
Section snippets
Journal selection
Using the 2019 Web of Science InCite Journal Citation Report (JCR) impact factor rankings,16 we selected a sample of 28 high impact factor journals in the fields of gastroenterology and hepatology for review. The JCR is a neutral third-party ranking system that uses impact factor among several other metrics to rank journals worldwide in terms of impact. Journals were confirmed to be primarily in the fields of interest by using Scopus All Science Journal Classification Codes.17 All journals in
Results
Twenty-nine journals were assessed with a median impact factor of 5.55 (interquartile range, 3.72-9.10) (Table 1). Most journals described a peer-review process for submitted articles (n = 23), whereas 1 journal was by invitation only and 5 journals did not state their review process on their websites. Notably, only 6 journals that described a peer-review process for reviewing submitted articles had explicit documentation that peer review would occur with blinding of authorship, with all others
Discussion
This study is the most comprehensive cross-sectional review of gender distribution in editorial leadership, editorial boards, and authorship in academic gastroenterology and hepatology journals that has been undertaken to date, spanning multiple subspecialties within this field and journals affiliated with various regions globally. Our study demonstrates that women constitute the minority among editors-in-chief, editorial board members, first and senior authors. There were significant positive
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DISCLOSURE: All authors disclosed no financial relationships.
DIVERSITY, EQUITY, AND INCLUSION: We worked to ensure ethnic or other types of diversity in the concept, design, and methodology of our study. One or more of the authors of this article self-identifies as an under-represented ethnic minority in science.
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Drs Leung and Jawaid contributed equally to this article.