Gender and Geographical Representation on Editorial Board Members of Medical Informatics Journals

Area of Science:

• Medical and Health Informatics
• Bibliometrics
• Scholarly Publishing

Background:

• Previous studies indicate gender and geographical inequities in scientific journal editorial leadership.
• Underrepresentation of minority groups, including women, may impact the scientific record.
• Diversity in editorial boards is crucial for equitable representation in scholarly publishing.

Purpose of the Study:

• To examine gender and geographical diversity among Editors-in-Chief (EiC) and Editorial Board (EB) members in top-ranked "Medicine-Health Informatics" journals.
• To build upon existing literature by analyzing representation in a specific, high-impact field.
• To identify potential biases in editorial board composition.

Main Methods:

• Analysis of editorial board composition for top Q1 "Medicine-Health Informatics" journals.
• Gender assessment using genderize.io.
• Geographical affiliation analysis of EiCs and EB members.
• Data sourced from SCImago Journal and Country Rank (SJR) listings.

Main Results:

• Female representation among EiCs is low at 25% (8/32).
• Women constitute only 32.7% (426/1303) of EB members across the analyzed journals.
• The United States shows significant overrepresentation, with 52.2% (698/1337) of EB members affiliated with US institutions.

Conclusions:

• Findings confirm existing concerns about gender and geographical underrepresentation in medical informatics journal leadership.
• There is a clear need for intentional strategies to enhance diversity in editorial boards.
• Stakeholders, including leaders, publishers, and the wider scientific community, must act to promote inclusivity.