Gender analysis of the top classic papers in otolaryngology head and neck surgery

The aim of this study was to identify and analyze the gender breakdown of first authorship contributing to the most-cited papers in the field of otolaryngology, with a goal of identifying trends in gender representation in publishing.

The top 150 most-cited papers were identified using the Science Citation Index of the Institute for Scientific Information. Among the first authors, gender, h-index, percentage of first, last, and corresponding authorship positions, total publications, and citations were analyzed.

The majority of papers were in the English language, from the United States, of clinical nature, and on otologic topics. Eighty-one percent of papers (n = 122) had men who were first authors, although there was no difference in h-index score, authorship position, number of publications, citations, and average citations/year between men and women first authors. Upon subgroup analysis by decade (1950s-2010s), there was no difference in the number of articles by women first authors (P = 0.11); however, there was a statistically significant increase in the percentage of women authors (P = 0.001) in papers published later compared to those published earlier.

While a promising number of women otolaryngologists are publishing high-powered articles, future initiatives to promote academic inclusivity of women should be considered.