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Gender Differences in Publication Authorship During COVID-19: A Bibliometric Analysis of High-Impact Cardiology
Ersilia M DeFilippis1, Lauren Sinnenberg2, Nadim Mahmud3
1Division of Cardiology Columbia University Irving Medical Center New York NY.
Insights
Women
Area of Science:
- Cardiology
- Medical Publishing
- Gender Studies
Background:
- The COVID-19 pandemic significantly impacted academic research and publishing.
- Understanding gender representation in scientific authorship is crucial for equity.
Purpose of the Study:
- To analyze gender disparities in authorship in high-impact cardiology journals during the early COVID-19 pandemic.
- To compare authorship representation between 2019 and 2020.
Main Methods:
- Bibliometric analysis of manuscripts published in four major cardiology journals.
- Gender determination using a validated database and manual review.
- Categorization of authors by role (first, senior) and manuscript type (COVID-19 related).
Main Results:
- Increased proportion of women as first and senior authors in 2020 compared to 2019.
- Women were more likely to be first authors when the senior author was also a woman.
- Women were less likely to be first authors of COVID-19 original research manuscripts.
Conclusions:
- Women's representation in cardiology manuscript authorship improved during the early pandemic.
- A gender gap persists, particularly in COVID-19 original research.
- Further research is needed on the pandemic's impact on women's academic careers.
Abstract:
Background The purpose of this study was to examine gender differences in authorship of manuscripts in select high-impact cardiology journals during the early coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) pandemic. Methods and Results All manuscripts published between March 1, 2019 to June 1, 2019 and March 1, 2020 to June 1, 2020 in 4 high-impact cardiology journals (Journal of the American College of Cardiology, Circulation, JAMA Cardiology, and European Heart Journal) were identified using bibliometric data. Authors' genders were determined by matching first name with predicted gender using a validated multinational database (Genderize.io) and manual adjudication. Proportions of women and men first, co-first, senior, and co-senior authors, manuscript types, and whether the manuscript was COVID-19 related were recorded. In 2019, women were first authors of 176 (22.3%) manuscripts and senior authors of 99 (15.0%) manuscripts. In 2020, women first authored 230 (27.4%) manuscripts and senior authored 138 (19.3%) manuscripts. Proportions of woman first and senior authors were significantly higher in 2020 compared with 2019. Women were more likely to be first authors if the manuscript's senior author was a woman (33.8% for woman first/woman senior versus 23.4% for woman first/man senior; P<0.001). Women were less likely to be first authors of COVID-19-related original research manuscripts (P=0.04). Conclusions Representation of women as key authors of manuscripts published in major cardiovascular journals increased during the early COVID-19 pandemic compared with similar months in 2019. However, women were significantly less likely to be first authors of COVID-19-related original research manuscripts. Future investigation into the gender-disparate impacts of COVID-19 on academic careers is critical.
