Gender Gaps in Publication: Plastic Surgery in Australasia

Area of Science:

• Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery
• Medical Publishing
• Gender Studies in Science

Background:

• Existing research highlights a gender gap in scientific literature, but specific impacts within surgical publications remain under-explored.
• This study focuses on the gender disparity in authorship within prominent Australasian Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery journals.

Purpose of the Study:

• To quantify the gender gap in authorship in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery.
• To analyze authorship trends across different article types and senior faculty collaborations.

Main Methods:

• A comprehensive review of original clinical science articles from 2018 to 2024 in AJOPS and ANZ Journal of Surgery.
• Data collected included first and last author gender, subspecialty, paper type, journal, volume, year, and issue.
• Analysis also examined the correlation between first author gender and senior faculty co-author gender.

Main Results:

• Male authorship predominated at 65% compared to 35% for females across 344 reviewed articles.
• Male first authors were significantly higher in editorials (83%) and non-editorial articles (62%).
• Males also held a substantial majority in senior authorship positions (80%).

Conclusions:

• A persistent gender disequilibrium exists in Plastic and Reconstructive Surgery publications, reflecting broader professional disparities.
• It remains unclear if increased female trainee and surgeon recruitment is translating into publication output.
• Further research is crucial to identify and dismantle barriers hindering women's publication in plastic surgery.