Persistent Gender Gaps on Editorial Boards of Digestive DiseasesJournals: A Cross-sectional Study

Despite the growing proportion of women in medicine, gender disparities persist in academic leadership. Editorial board membership is a key indicator of academic influence, yet data on gender representation in digestive surgery and gastroenterology journals remain limited.

Journals in general surgery, digestive surgery, and gastroenterology were identified using the Clarivate database. Data collected in November 2024 included gender distribution across editorial roles, Journal Impact Factor (JIF), and the h-index of editors-in-chief. Journals with a JIF < 2, non-English language, non-relevant specialty focus, or unknown editor gender were excluded. Statistical analyses were performed using GraphPad Prism, with significance set at p < 0.05.

A total of 124 journals comprising 2,542 editors were analyzed. Women represented 18% of editorial board members overall and only 10% of editors-in-chief. Twenty-four journals had no female representation. Female representation was higher among deputy and associate editors but remained lower than that of men. No significant differences were observed between surgical and gastroenterology journals. A positive association was found between JIF and the proportion of women on editorial boards (p = 0.0009). Female editors-in-chief had a lower mean h-index than male editors-in-chief.

Women remain markedly underrepresented on editorial boards of digestive surgery and gastroenterology journals, particularly in leadership roles. Although higher-impact journals show modestly greater female representation, substantial gender inequities persist.