Original article
Clinical endoscopy
Gender differences in gastroenterology and hepatology authorship and editorial boards

https://doi.org/10.1016/j.gie.2021.05.019Get rights and content

Background and Aims

Women are numerically under-represented in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology. This study aims to characterize the gender distribution of first and senior authors and editorial board members across high impact factor journals in gastroenterology and hepatology.

Methods

Publications from January 1, 2019 to December 31, 2019 were reviewed from 29 journals. Gender of editorial board leadership, editorial board members, first, and senior authors was identified using publicly available data. Spearman correlation coefficients were calculated to assess for a relationship among editorial board, first author, and senior author gender and impact factor.

Results

Of 29 journals (median impact factor 5.55) with 357 journal issues and 8036 articles, there were 3 of 39 female chief editors (7.7%), 601 of 3455 female editorial board members (17.4%), 2547 of 8036 female first authors (31.7%), and 1390 of 7335 female senior authors (19%). No statistically significant correlations existed between impact factor and chief editor gender with gender distribution of editorial boards, first authors, or senior authors. Positive correlations existed between male-dominated editorial boards and male first (+.52, P = .005) and senior authorship (+.56, P = .002), whereas negative correlations occurred between male-dominated editorial boards and female first (–.51, P = .006) and senior authorship (–.56, P = .002). Positive correlations also existed between publication of first and senior authors of the same gender (+.57, men [P = .001]; +.58, women [P = .001]).

Conclusions

Although gender distribution of female first authorship approaches current distributions in the field of gastroenterology and hepatology, editor-in-chief positions, editorial board membership, and senior authorship continue to be primarily men. Future endeavors to improve proportionate gender representation include improved journal leadership selection transparency, targeted diversity statements, and enhanced mentorship.

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

References (39)

  • C. Fine et al.

    Why does workplace gender diversity matter? Justice, Organizational benefits, and policy

    Soc Issues Policy Rev

    (2020)
  • Y. Tsugawa et al.

    Comparison of hospital mortality and readmission rates for Medicare patients treated by male vs female physicians

    JAMA Intern Med

    (2017)
  • N.D. Rynecki et al.

    How well represented are women orthopaedic surgeons and residents on major orthopaedic editorial boards and publications?

    Clin Orthop Relat Res

    (2020)
  • Y. Jabbarpour et al.

    Has female authorship in family medicine research evolved over time?

    Ann Fam Med

    (2020)
  • S. Bhatia et al.

    Trends in female authorship of high impact publications in gastroenterology journals, 1997-2017: 1137

    Am J Gastroenterol

    (2018)
  • M. Subramaniam et al.

    Equal opportunity: women representation on editorial boards and authorship of editorials in gastroenterology and hepatology journals

    Am J Gastroenterol

    (2021)
  • M.T. Long et al.

    Female authorship in major academic gastroenterology journals: a look over 20 years

    Gastrointest Endosc

    (2015)
  • S.A. Azer et al.

    Bibliometric analysis of the top-cited gastroenterology and hepatology articles

    BMJ Open

    (2016)
  • 2019 Journal Citation Reports. 2019

  • Cited by (14)

    • Gender Parity in High Impact Cardiology Journals

      2023, Current Problems in Cardiology
      Citation Excerpt :

      Since 2004, this trend has plateaued.8,9 Gender inequity has been noted in numerous medical subspecialties including radiology,10 orthopedics,11 family medicine,12 and gastroenterology.13 Gender inequity is present in cardiology.14

    • Association between women's authorship and women's editorship in infectious diseases journals: a cross-sectional study

      2022, The Lancet Infectious Diseases
      Citation Excerpt :

      The gender of a journal's editors or editor-in-chief might partly influence whether a manuscript is considered for peer-review and publication. Factors that might directly or indirectly influence editorial decisions include the possible same-gender preferences of editors16 and differences between men and women authors in rhetorical style, the self-assuredness of reporting, and preferences for certain research methods or topics.17 Overall, the complex relationship between the under-representation of women among editors and the under-representation of women among authors remains disputed, with the causal mechanisms at play not yet fully untangled.18

    View all citing articles on Scopus

    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.

    Drs Leung and Jawaid contributed equally to this article.

    View full text