Global Trends and Cross-Country Differences in Authorship by Women in Academic Anaesthesiology Since 1996: A Repeated...

Background/Objectives: Despite an increase in the number of women medical graduates, gender disparities persist in academic anaesthesiology. Women in medical science face challenges in publications, research funding, editorial board membership, and peer review, and they remain under-represented, particularly in senior authorship and leadership positions. Methods: This repeated cross-sectional bibliometric analysis examined global trends and cross-country differences in the representation of women as first, co-, and senior authors of peer-reviewed articles published in five high-impact anaesthesiology journals over three decades, with a focus on developments in recent years. Gender was assigned to authors' first names algorithmically in two steps (Gender API and NamSor). Results: A total of 7571 publications were analysed, comprising 37,738 authors. Women constituted 11,732 (31.09%) authorships in total, and men consistently accounted for a substantial majority among authors (p < 0.001). Despite a significant overall increase in authorship by women-peaking in 2022 at 590 (36.88%) first authors, 2245 (37.85%) co-authors, and 402 (28.05%) senior authors (all p < 0.001)-stagnation was observed in recent years, with no significant changes for first and co-authors after 2016 (p > 0.05). Country-level analysis revealed few significant differences, with Japan consistently reporting the lowest percentages of women authors. Conclusions: This study underscores persistent gender disparities in academic anaesthesiology, despite a moderate increase in authorship by women over three decades. Gender disparity remains a global issue, and the recent stagnation highlights the necessity for more comprehensive efforts and innovative strategies to foster a more inclusive research community in academic anaesthesiology.