Women were most likely to be lead authors on articles about general medicine, followed by cardiology. They were much less likely to be first authors on studies focused on such specialties as infectious disease, cancer or HIV.
Although it’s hard to say exactly why women may be underrepresented in these journals, it’s possible that their lack of representation on editorial boards and as reviewers who critique and select research for publication may play a role. Male reviewers are more likely to publish work by other men, the authors note.
To close the gender gap in lead authorship, journals may need to diversify their editorial staff and to do a better job of addressing unconscious gender bias, Kathryn Rexrode, a researcher at Harvard Medical School and director of the Office for Women’s Careers at Brigham and Women’s Hospital in Boston, noted in an accompanying editorial.
“The influx of women in medicine and science has changed some of the questions that are asked,” Rexrode said by email.
Until recently, most clinical research was done in men and lab research was done in male animals, Rexrode noted.
“Women researchers were a large part of the impetus to ask, `but what about women?'” Rexrode added. “This has led to increased research in sex differences, and the `every cell has a sex’ campaign – which will hopefully benefit both men and women patients.”
