Same-gender citations do not indicate a substantial gender homophily bias

Area of Science:

• Bibliometrics
• Sociology of Science
• Gender Studies in STEM

Background:

• The male citation advantage, where male scientists receive more citations than female scientists, is a documented phenomenon in academia.
• Gender homophily bias, the tendency to cite scientists of the same gender, has been proposed as a primary explanation for this advantage.

Purpose of the Study:

• To investigate whether gender homophily bias truly explains the male citation advantage.
• To assess the impact of structural factors, specifically gendered specialization in research topics, on citation patterns.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of citation data, controlling for the gender composition of research topics at a granular level.
• Statistical modeling to differentiate between homophily bias and topic-related effects.

Main Results:

• When controlling for gendered specialization in research topics, evidence for gender homophily bias in citation decisions is significantly reduced.
• Previous estimates of gender homophily bias may have been overestimated due to overlooking these structural factors.

Conclusions:

• Gendered specialization in research topics is a crucial structural aspect that influences citation patterns.
• The male citation advantage is likely influenced by factors beyond simple gender homophily bias, emphasizing the need to account for topic-specific gender distributions in scientific fields.