Women's Authorship of Reviews in Ophthalmic Journals Over Time

Abstract

Purpose: To investigate prevalence and trends in women's authorship of articles in ophthalmic review journals over 2 decades. Design: Literature survey. Methods: Total number of authors, and number and gender of first and senior (last-named) authors, were identified in all full reviews published in Prog Retin Eye Res , Surv Ophthalmol, and Curr Opin Ophthalmol for the calendar years 1999, 2009, and 2019. The gender of authors was assigned manually by multiple methods. The subspecialty area of each review was captured by keyword and text search. Country of origin was determined from attributions of first and senior authors. Results: The gender of 841 first and senior authors was assigned unequivocally for 471 articles (96%). The frequency of women's authorship rose significantly over time (1999, 2009, 2019) for both first authors (19%, 32%, 44%; P < 0.001) and senior authors (16%, 19%, 29%; P = 0.018). The number of single-author reviews decreased significantly over time ( P < 0.001), as did the proportion of reviews with neither a first nor a senior woman author ( P < 0.001). Women's first authorship increased over time for reviews on glaucoma ( P < 0.001), while women's senior authorship increased for anterior segment/cataract ( P = 0.036). The proportion of reviews with a woman first or senior author did not differ by country of origin ( P = 0.887 and P = 0.520, respectively). Conclusions: Women's authorship of articles in ophthalmic review journals increased significantly over the 20-year period, but a gender disparity remained: in 2019, more than 55% of first authors, and more than 70% of senior authors, were men.

Research productivity and gender of research award recipients in international ophthalmology societies

“…Also, the proportion of reviews with women being the first or senior author did not vary by country of origin (p = 0.887 and p = 0.520, respectively). 23 Therefore, this explains the majority spikes of woman award recipients during the later 2010s in figure 1.…”

The status of women in academic ophthalmology: Authorship of papers, presentations, and academic promotions

“…Mansour et al found a significant increase in the proportion of female first and last authors in three large ophthalmology journals from 1969 to 2009, with the increase being greatest prior to 1999 and more modest after that date 6 . Similarly, the study on review papers by Gertig et al showed that the largest increase in the proportion of female first authors occurred between 1999 and 2009, with less of an increase between 2009 and 2019 7 . As suggested by Mansour et al, this increase in publications is likely a reflection of the increase in women entering medical school and the field of ophthalmology overall—a change which was most rapid through the mid‐2000s 6 …”

“…6 Similarly, the study on review papers by Gertig et al showed that the largest increase in the proportion of female first authors occurred between 1999 and 2009, with less of an increase between 2009 and 2019. 7 As suggested by Mansour et al, this increase in publications is likely a reflection of the increase in women entering medical school and the field of ophthalmology overall-a change which was most rapid through the mid-2000s. 6 In terms of authorship trends in high-impact ophthalmology journals, all studies show an increase in female authorship, but with differences in the rate of increase, particularly for senior authors (Table 1).…”

Women in ophthalmology

“…Globally, 25%–30% of ophthalmologists and 35%–45% of ophthalmology trainees are now women 1 . However, women are still comparatively underrepresented in ophthalmic leadership positions 2 and academic output 3–5 …”

“…1 However, women are still comparatively underrepresented in ophthalmic leadership positions 2 and academic output. [3][4][5] Identifying gender inequality in ophthalmology is the first step in addressing the problem. The next is to proactively support and encourage women, from training and recruitment through to leadership appointments and research productivity.…”