Author gender ratio by subject area and research topic

The proportion of female authors is shown for each of the main subject areas and topics covered by research papers in the Nature Index. The natural-sciences category combines biological sciences, Earth & environmental sciences, chemistry and physical sciences.

Gender was inferred by feeding unique combinations of first name, last name and origin country/territory to an algorithm. The analysis counts authorship instances rather than individual authors and so reflects publication activity rather than a strict headcount of individuals. See methodology for more information.

A guide to author gender ratio data on Nature Index

*Among the natural- and health-sciences journals tracked by the Nature Index are some journals that have been classified as 'multidisciplinary', which means some applied- and social-sciences topics appear in the analysis.

Back to the Nature Index author gender ratio