Disproportionately low authorship by women urologists in sexual medicine journals

The recent efforts to increase the proportion of women in urology have demonstrated success; it is equally important to evaluate success of these efforts in urologic sub-specialized fields as well.

This study aims to evaluate the impact of these efforts and the representation of women urologists in the sexual medicine literature.

Original research manuscripts from three prominent sexual medicine journals from 2013 to 2023 were collected. Manuscripts submitted under Paraphilia subsections, as well as systematic reviews, meta-analyses, communications, commentaries, replies, and those involving psychometrics were excluded. Proportion of women authors in these journals' literature was determined by searching names of first and last authors on the Internet.

This study evaluates whether authorship by women in sexual medicine literature has increased following recent efforts to enhance their representation in urology and related fields.

1065 of 2701 (39%) collected manuscripts meeting criteria were from first (FA) or last authors (LA). Women were significantly less likely to be FA or LAs across these manuscripts (P< 0.001).Further, variables such as author degree, field, profession, and institution type all demonstrated significant gender disparities in FA and LA as well. Representation of women FAs and LAs was lowest in urology (15%, 5%) compared to obstetrics and gynecology (64%, 55%) and psychology (68%, 63%).

These disparities in sexual medicine publications have important consequences for women urologists; these opportunities often impact future career advancement in academia.

Gender identification relied on traditional markers (such as names and pronouns), which may not fully capture the diversity of gender identities, we sought to mediate that by using a binary identification method. The analysis was also limited to first and last authorship, which may not capture contributions from middle authors.

Although the push to increase the proportion of women urologists has shown success, there are still significant disparities seen in publication of sexual medicine literature. Potential avenues for improvement include mentorship and targeted institutional support.