Table 1 Key studies on scientific authorship by gender in relation to the COVID-19 pandemic.
From: Scientific authorship by gender: trends before and during a global pandemic
Article | Journals/disciplines (no. of Journals or Publication Databases) | No. of manuscriptsa | Method to assess authors’ genderb | Key results on COVID-19’s influence on authorship by gender |
|---|---|---|---|---|
This study | Astronomy/astrophysics, biosciences, environmental science, interdisciplinary, materials, mathematics, physics (57 journals) | 119,592 | Self-identified | Women contributed a higher % of articles during the pandemic than pre-pandemic, however this value had been increasing over time prior to the pandemic |
Abramo et al. (2022) | General (3 databases) | 153,231 | Algorithm | Larger decrease in articles for men than women for corresponding author, with variation by region |
Anabaraonye et al. (2022) | Radiation oncology (1 journal) | 458 | Perceived gender through internet search | No statistically significant decrease in the overall proportion of women publishing |
Anderson et al. (2020) | Medicine (1 database) | 15,843 COVID articles, 316,367 “control” articles | Algorithm | COVID-19 papers have lower % female first authors than papers pre-pandemic Inconclusive results for last author and overall authorship of COVID-19 papers by gender |
Ayyala and Trout (2022) | Pediatric radiology (1 journal) | 1108 | Authors’ knowledge, name, internet search | No significant difference in female authorship over time for first, last or corresponding authors |
Babicz et al. (2021) | Clinical neuropsychology (4 journals, additional analysis of 40 articles from 9 journals) | 1,018. Additional analysis of 40 articles | First name and US and UK Census data, website | % of women lead/corresponding authors did not change comparing the pandemic and pre-pandemic |
Bell and Fong (2021) | Public health (1 journal) | 1767 | Algorithm | Submission rates increased more for men than women during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period for the US |
Biondi et al. (2021) | Agricultural economics (4 journals) | 5366 | Algorithm | Submissions increased equi-proportionately by gender No evidence of near-term disruption in publications |
Bittante et al. (2022) | COVID-19 (1 database) | 1448 | Website photos | Men were more represented than women as first and last authors |
Chen and Seto (2021) | Urban land science (1 database) | 1582 | Algorithm, pronouns, photos | Productivity increased for women and decreased for men during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period |
Cook and Gupta (2021) | Obstetrics and gynecology (6 journals) | 655 | Authors assessment of name and websites | No difference in gender of first author during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period |
Cui et al. (2022) | Social science (1 database) | 41,858 | Algorithm, authors’ assessment of professional webpages | Preprints by women increased during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period, but declined in relation to men’s productivity |
Cushman (2020) | Thrombosis, hemostasis, and vascular biology (1 journal) | 178 | Self-report | No difference in authorship by gender for first and corresponding authors |
DeFilippis et al. (2021) | Cardiology (4 journals) | 7627 | Algorithm, pronouns | Proportion of women first and senior authors higher in 2020 than 2019 |
Dolan and Lawless (2020) | Political science (1 journal) | 108 during pandemic | Unspecified | Higher % of female authors during the pandemic than pre-pandemic |
Fox and Meyer (2020) | Ecology (6 journals) | 6042 | Algorithm | No evidence of disproportionate impact on female authors due to pandemic |
Gayet-Ageron et al. (2021) | Biomedicine COVID-19 (11 journals) | 63,259 | Algorithm | Women less likely to be first author on COVID-19 papers compared to pre-pandemic papers Gender distributions of authorship were similar for non-COVID-19 manuscripts for pandemic and pre-pandemic periods |
Gershengorn et al. (2022) | Pulmonary and critical care (4 journals) | 8332 | Algorithm | No change in proportion of female first or senior authors during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period Articles with female senior author less likely to be accepted for non-COVID papers |
Harris et al. (2022) | School psychology (3 journals) | 804 | Algorithm, authors’ assessment | No significant difference in gender of first author comparing pandemic and pre-pandemic period |
Ipe et al (2021) | Transfusion medicine (4 journals) | 1024 | Algorithm, manual verification through unspecified means | Lower % of female first authors in the pandemic period No statistical change for senior authors |
Jemielniak et al. (2022) | 21 disciplines (2813 journals) | 266,409 | Algorithm | No significant differences between men and women publication patterns, although patterns differed by discipline |
Jordan and Carlezon (2021) | Neuropsychopharmacology (1 journal) | 1940 | Pronouns, website, photographs, first name | % of women similar during the pandemic and pre-pandemic periods for corresponding author |
Liu et al. (2022) | COVID-19 (1 database) | 332,458 | Algorithm | Gender disparities in authorship increased in pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period, then returned to pre-pandemic levels Papers from teams with females in a leading role were less cited in both periods, but this disparity increased during pandemic |
Lerchenmüller et al. (2021) | Life sciences (3426 journals) | 42,898 COVID articles, 483,232 “control” articles | Databases (e.g., first name and Social Security Administration data) | Gender disparity in authorship widened under pandemic Patterns differed by country |
Madsen et al. (2022) | Medicine, biology, chemistry, clinical medicine (1 database) | 2,113,108 | Algorithm | Gender difference in publication productivity increased from 2019 to 2020 Widening gender gap for early career and mid-career scientists Most prominent gender gap for highly productive authors and those in biology or clinical medicine |
Mah et al. (2022) | Gynecologic oncology (2 journals) | 3022 | Pronouns, Google image results and websites for first names, algorithm | Men were more represented as authors in all time periods No immediate impact of the early pandemic on the gender distribution of authors |
Marescotti et al. (2022) | Neuroscience, neurology, psychiatry (1 journal) | 796 | Algorithm | % of authors who were women decreased during pandemic No differences in trends of gender disparities between first, middle, or last authors |
Mogensen et al. (2021) | Radiology (1 journal) | 752 | Authors’ knowledge, internet search | Proportion of female first authors during pandemic lower than during pre-pandemic period, although difference not statistically different Similar results for corresponding author |
Muric et al. (2021) | Biomedicine (62 journals) | 78,980 | Algorithm | Proportion of female authors declined overall for first author and last author Gender disparities differed by country |
Nguyen et al. (2021) | Ophthalmology (65 journals) | 119,457 | Algorithm | COVID-19 articles had lower % women authors (first, middle, last) than predicted |
Orchard et al. (2022) | Occupational and environmental health (1 journal) | 3531 | Algorithm | Increased productivity during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period for men, but less so for women |
Quak et al. (2021) | Medical imaging (50 journals) | 7073 | Algorithm | % of authors who were women slightly higher during pandemic than pre-pandemic period Female authors for COVID-19 papers were overrepresented at the lowest ranked journal |
Ribarovska et al. (2021) | Brain behavior and immunity (1 journal) | Not specified | First name, pronouns, appearance | Female authorship slightly lower during the pandemic compared to the pre-pandemic period |
Ryskina et al. (2022) | Medicine (7 journals) | 2856 | Pronouns, first name and US Social Security databases | No differences in proportion of articles by gender of lead author for pandemic and pre-pandemic periods, although baseline disparities remained |
Squazzoni et al. (2021) | Health and medicine, life sciences, physical sciences and engineering, social sciences and economics (2329 journals) | 1,983,799 | Algorithm | Women submitted proportionally fewer manuscripts during pandemic |
Ucar et al. (2022) | General (5 databases) | 307,902 | Algorithm | Proportion of male authors for preprints increased during pandemicHigher proportion of male authors in COVID-19 preprints |
Williams et al. (2021) | Pediatric medicine (1 journal) | 1,521 | Algorithm | Proportion of women authors decreased during pandemic compared to pre-pandemic period Gender disparities differed by country |
Wooden and Hanson (2022) | Earth and space science (23 journals) | American Geophysical Union (AGU) member profiles, algorithm | No difference in proportion of male and female corresponding authors comparing pandemic and pre-pandemic periods | |
Wright et al. (2022) | Family medicine (1 journal) | 4325 | Algorithm | Submissions increased more for men than women |
