Mind the gap: Gendered publication trends in oncology

Abstract

BACKGROUND: Investigating scientific publication trends in the field of oncology may highlight opportunities for improved representation, mentorship, collaboration, and advancement for women. METHODS: We conducted a bibliometric analysis of 2017. Full name and degree credentials per author role (ie, first or senior author), article type, publication year, and citation metrics were collected. First names were used to identify author gender. RESULTS: Across 9189 articles, female representation rose between 1990 and 2017 (first authors: 17. 7% in 1990, 36.6% in 2017; senior authors: 11.7% in 1990, 28.5% in 2017). For the 50 most cited articles per year, women comprised a smaller percent of first (26.5%) and senior (19.9%) authors. The average citation count was higher for male first (44.8 per article) and senior (47.1) authors compared to female first (39.7) and senior (44.1) authors. With male senior authors, the first author was more likely male (71.4% male; 25.0% female); with female senior authors, first authors were 50.2% male and 47.6% female. IJROBP had the lowest total female representation among first (25.1%) and senior (16.7%) authors. Women had more MDs with Masters degrees, whereas men held more MDs only and more MDs with PhDs. CONCLUSION: Despite positive trends, substantial gendered differences in oncology publications persist. Fostering more women in oncology research will benefit female representation at many levels of academia and improve productivity, collaboration, and recruitment, especially in technical fields such as radiation and surgical oncology. Cancer 2020;126:2859-2865.

Trends in gender of authors of original research in oncology among major medical journals: a retrospective bibliometric study

“…Our study results are largely consistent with prior studies that investigated female authorship in journals with high-impact factors, with some differences likely attributable to the averaging of multiple journals in our analysis. Dalal et al 21 reported comparable increasing trends in female authorship in five major oncology journals between 1990 and 2017. Their analysis included editorials, reviews, letters, notes and proceedings, in addition to original research articles.…”

“…For the year 2017, the percentage of female senior authorship was nearly 10% lower than that of first authorship, which corroborated with our findings. 21 Ahmed et al 15 examined trends in female authorship in the International Journal of Radiation Oncology, Biology, Physics between 1980 and 2012. For all original articles in 2012, they reported that 29.7% and 22.6% of first authors and last authors were women, respectively.…”

The Matilda Effect: Underrecognition of Women in Hematology and Oncology Awards

“…A study that examined speakers' introductions at the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meeting found that when introduced by men, women speakers were less likely to receive a professional address [14]. According to a recently published paper on gendered publication trends in oncology, although representation by women increased between 1990 and 2017, women composed a smaller percentage of first (26.5%) and senior (19.9%) authors [15]. This trend was noted to reflect the increase of representation by women in the oncologic workforce.…”

Gender inequality among medical, pharmaceutical and dental practitioners in French hospitals: Where have we been and where are we now?

“…Many authors have already identified obstacles to the promotion of women, mainly in English or American publications. There are well-documented gender gaps in publications [ 26 – 28 ], peer review processes [ 29 ], grant supports [ 30 – 35 ], recognition awards [ 36 – 39 ], speaker invitations [ 39 – 42 ], composition of editorial boards [ 43 – 46 ], and leadership positions [ 47 – 50 ].…”