Gender and Journal Authorship in Eight Prestigious Political Science Journals

Abstract

How well are women authors represented in the most-recognized journals in political science? To what degree does the presence of women authors mirror women's presence in the discipline? Although a few studies have sought to provide data on the presence of women authors in political science journals (Young 1995; Kelly et al. 1994), more recent work on the visibility of women in the discipline has focused on gender and authorship of edited volumes (Mathews and Andersen 2001), on the participation of women in the APSA annual meetings (e.g., Gruberg 2006; 2004), and on the status of women in the discipline (Sarkees and McGlen 1992; 1999; Committee on the Status of Women in the Profession 2001). All are useful endeavors. This paper analyzes the presence of women authors in six volume years (1999–2004) of eight prestigious political science journals—American Political Science Review (APSR), American Journal of Political Science (AJPS), Journal of Politics (JOP), World Politics (WP), International Organization (IO), Comparative Politics (CP), Comparative Political Studies (CPS), and International Studies Quarterly (ISQ).

Reviewer Fatigue? Why Scholars Decline to Review their Peers’ Work

“…A number of studies evaluate trends in publishing in political science journals (e.g., Breuning and Sanders 2007 ;Hancock, Baum, and Breuning 2013 ;Hesli and Lee 2011 ;Hesli, Lee, and Mitchell 2012 ;Maliniak, Powers, and Walter 2013 ;Østby et al 2013 ;Wilson 2014 ). They address the factors that make scholars productive, impediments to publishing, and patterns in citation.…”

Profile of Contributors to the American Political Science Review, 2010

“…Among the factors cited for the underrepresentation of women among contributors to the APSR and the discipline are: human capital; social capital; marriage, children or family formation; work environment; access to elite networks in the discipline; co-authorship; citations; hesitation by female scholars to submit research to top journals, including the APSR; less focus on women in the political science curriculum; gender differences in research methodologies used; women leaving the profession; fewer women on journal editorial boards; lower salaries for women; women are less likely to be promoted compared with men; gender stereotypes; and women teach more courses per year, and do more advising and mentoring than their male counterparts (Brandes et al, 2001;Breuning & Sanders, 2007; Cassese et al, 2013; Grofman, 2009, p. 722;Fisher et al, 1998;Hesli et al, 2012;Mann, 1998;Marshall & Rothgeb, Jr., 2011;Sampaio, 2006;Stegmaier et al, 2011;Young, 1995).…”

“…Some studies on rankings of economics and political science departments or economics journals in the past several years, for example, have also utilized the internet to compile data. For example, Breuning and Sanders (2007) used a similar method in a study of women who published articles in eight prestigious political science journals: "In the few cases where academic rank, academic discipline, or gender could not be determined on the basis of the biographical note, we relied on Internet searches" (p. 348). In a study ranking economics departments in the world, Amir and Knauff (2008) note that their, "data were collected in April 2006 directly from the Web sites of the relevant departments" (p. 185).…”

“…The APSR like the top economics journal in the U.S., the American Economic Review (AER) are known as international journals, which means that students and scholars, policy makers and other elites in the U.S. and abroad tend to read them and the authors that publish in them are from all over the world. So once one publish an article in the APSR, he or she can become internationally known, which benefits the institutions that employ them (Ballard & Mitchell, 1998;Breuning & Sanders, 2007;De Rond & Miller, 2005;Evans & Moulder, 2011;Finifter, 1998;Fisher et al, 1998;Garand et al, 2009;Garand & Graddy, 1999;Garand & Giles, 2003;Grofman, 2009;Marshall & Rothgeb, Jr. 2011;Miller & Tien, 1996;Plümper, 2007;Rogowski, 2012;Schmidt & Chingos, 2007, p. 523;Polsky, 2007;Sigelman, 2006;Tang & Chamberlain, 2003). Fisher et al (1998) note of the efforts of political scientists to study various aspects of their profession: "Political scientists have a tradition of reflecting on the evolution and state of their discipline.…”

“…160-161; Losco, 1998, p. 839; Young, 1995, p. 525). According to Breuning and Sanders (2007): "Women's membership in the various sections of APSA varies between a low of 19.9% for political methodology to a high of 92.3% for women and politics. On average, women account for 32.2% of APSA membership (averaged across the section memberships).…”