Gender equity in health research publishing in Africa

Abstract

IntroductionWomen researchers find it more difficult to publish in academic journals than men, an inequity that affects women’s careers and was exacerbated during the pandemic, particularly for women in low-income and middle-income countries. We measured publishing by sub-Saharan African (SSA) women in prestigious authorship positions (first or last author, or single author) during the time frame 2014–2016. We also examined policies and practices at journals publishing high rates of women scientists from sub-Saharan Africa, to identify potential structural enablers affecting these women in publishing.MethodsThe study used Namsor V.2, an application programming interface, to conduct a secondary analysis of a bibliometric database. We also analysed policies and practices of ten journals with the highest number of SSA women publishing in first authorship positions.ResultsBased on regional analyses, the greatest magnitude of authorship inequity is in papers from sub-Saharan Africa, where men comprised 61% of first authors, 65% of last authors and 66% of single authors. Women from South Africa and Nigeria had greater success in publishing than those from other SSA countries, though women represented at least 20% of last authors in 25 SSA countries. The journals that published the most SSA women as prominent authors are journals based in SSA. Journals with overwhelmingly male leadership are also among those publishing the highest number of SSA women.ConclusionWomen scholars in SSA face substantial gender inequities in publishing in prestigious authorship positions in academic journals, though there is a cadre of women research leaders across the region. Journals in SSA are important for local women scholars and the inequities SSA women researchers face are not necessarily attributable to gender discrepancy in journals’ editorial leadership.

Equity in scientific publishing: 2022 results from Research and Practice in Thrombosis and Haemostasis

“…We have reported inequity for some journals in the thrombosis and hemostasis field [ 11 ] and await improvements. Inequity in authorship for women was prominent in sub-Saharan Africa [ 12 ]. Some journals have expressed a commitment to collecting and reporting data [ 13 , 14 ] with no results available to our knowledge.…”

Gender Equality in Antiphospholipid Syndrome Publications: A Comprehensive Analysis of First Author Trends

“…While the number of women in medicine and medical research has been increasing throughout the years, studies such as Baobeid et al and Bernardi et al, have reported a higher number of male authors occupying the first and last authorship positions in medical research papers [ 12 , 13 ]. Furthermore, within specialized medical areas like hand surgery, spine surgery, and otolaryngology, there has been an encouraging increase in the number of women engaging in research.…”

Self-interestedness in Research Collaboration and its Association with Career Stage and Nature of Collaboration: A Survey of Zimbabwean Researchers

“…Several studies have reported gender asymmetries in various academic-related activities ( Araújo et al, 2017 ; Baobeid et al, 2022 ; Beaudry & Larivière, 2016 ; Kwiek & Roszka, 2021 ; Larivière et al, 2013 ). Most of these have been carried out outside Africa and the focus has been on asymmetries in relation to issues such as hiring, grant funding, research production and collaboration strategies.…”