Female Authorship and Ophthalmology Journal Editorial Board Membership Trends Over the Last Decade, 2012-2021

Paola A Rivera; Agata Atayde; Lei Wang; Ninani Kombo

doi:10.1016/j.ajo.2023.07.002

Female Authorship and Ophthalmology Journal Editorial Board Membership Trends Over the Last Decade, 2012-2021

Am J Ophthalmol. 2023 Nov:255:107-114. doi: 10.1016/j.ajo.2023.07.002. Epub 2023 Jul 16.

Authors

Paola A Rivera¹, Agata Atayde², Lei Wang³, Ninani Kombo⁴

Affiliations

¹ From the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale School of Medicine (P.A.R., N.K.), New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
² Harvard T.H. Chan School of Public Health (A.A.), Boston, Massachusetts, USA.
³ Harvey Cushing/John Hay Whitney Medical Library (L.W.), Yale University School of Medicine, New Haven, Connecticut, USA.
⁴ From the Department of Ophthalmology and Visual Science, Yale School of Medicine (P.A.R., N.K.), New Haven, Connecticut, USA. Electronic address: ninani.kombo@yale.edu.

PMID: 37463630
DOI: 10.1016/j.ajo.2023.07.002

Abstract

Purpose: To study the relationship between female authorship and editorial board membership in 3 ophthalmology journals from 2012 to 2021.

Design: Cross-sectional and trend study.

Methods: The prevalence of female first, senior authorship, and editorial board members were examined in Ophthalmology, JAMA Ophthalmology, and American Journal of Ophthalmology. Gender-API assigned gender to authors based on name and country. Editorial board (EB) information was manually extracted and grouped for comparison among leadership positions. Gender data collected on authorship and EB membership were compared. The proportion of women in EB positions was identified: editor-in-chief, mid-level editors, and consulting editors. Relationship between female authorship and editorial board membership was analyzed.

Results: Women published fewer articles as first (1547/4267) and senior (1165/4267) authors than did men. The proportion of women in senior authorship significantly increased from 2012 to 2021 (23.4% to 30.5%, P = .0046). Across EB, a significant increase in female members (13.9% to 34.6%, P = .0006) was observed. There was a significant correlation (P < .0001) between female EB members and female authors (r = 0.74, 95% CI = 0.51-0.87) for all journals. The odds of female first authorships were 1.89 (95% CI = 1.65-2.17) times higher for articles with female senior authors than for male senior authors (P < .0001).

Conclusion: Female senior authorship significantly increased over the last decade. Journals with a higher representation of female EB members also had a higher representation of female authorship. This study found a positive association between first and senior female authorship; however, the gender gap persists. Continued efforts to reach equity in publications and EB representation are necessary.