Abstract: FR-PO888
Evaluation of Gender Bias in First Authorship in Nephrology Publications From 2011-2021
Session Information
- Diversity and Equity in Kidney Health - II
November 04, 2022 | Location: Exhibit Hall, Orange County Convention Center‚ West Building
Abstract Time: 10:00 AM - 12:00 PM
Category: Diversity and Equity in Kidney Health
- 800 Diversity and Equity in Kidney Health
Authors
- Abraham, Rahul R., LSU Health Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States
- Adisa, Oluwadamilola, LSU Health Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States
- Iqbal, Fatima, LSU Health Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States
- Sulaiman, Karina, LSU Health Shreveport, Shreveport, Louisiana, United States
Background
Publishing articles is integral to clinical academia and acts as a benchmark for academic prolificacy. Research participation and expertise are essential in the advancement of academic careers. However, the existence of gender bias in publications is a well-established and undeniable reality. No data exists on publication biases in nephrology. This study was carried out to evaluate gender disparities and their trajectory among popular nephrology journals.
Methods
A PubMed search was performed using the easyPubMed package in R, version 4.0.3. The code was written to extract all articles indexed in PubMed from 2011 to 2021 from American nephrology journals with high impact factors were selected – Journal of American Society of Nephrology (impact factor), American Journal of Nephrology, American Journal of Kidney disease, Clinical Journal of the American Society of Nephrology. Gender with predictions >90% were accepted and the remaining were manually searched on the internet. SPSS was used to carry out descriptive statistics, ratios of male to female first authors grouped by years were carried out, followed by Chi-square-tests were used to measure differences in proportions, and Pearson's correlation was carried out. A similar analysis was done for individual journals.
Results
11608 articles were included in the study. Across all journals, the average ratio of male to female first authors improved across the years, from 1.9 to 1.5(p<0.05). Additionally, in 2011, women accounted for 32% of first authors, a number that rose to 40% in 2021, with the average across the ten years being 37%. Of the four journals analyzed, all except for the American Journal of Nephrology showed an improvement in the ratio of male to female first authors. For the American Journal of the society of Nephrology, the ratio changed from 1.81 to 1.58, p=0.001, for the clinical journal of the American Society of Nephrology, the ratio declined from 1.91 to 1.15, p=0.005 while for the American Journal of Kidney Disease, the ratio declined from 2.19 to 1.19, p=0.002.
Conclusion
Gender bias in publications continues to exist in first-author publications in nephrology. However, this review indicates that the gender gap is closing. Multiple factors might be contributory to this. We hope this study lays the groundwork to continue to follow and evaluate gender trends in publication.