Increased Female Authorship in Otolaryngology Over the Past Three Decades
Open Access
- 1 March 2000
- journal article
- research article
- Published by Wiley in The Laryngoscope
- Vol. 110 (3), 358-361
- https://doi.org/10.1097/00005537-200003000-00005
Abstract
Objective To identify changing trends in female authorship and publication in the otolaryngology literature. Methods All articles published in the four major otolaryngology journals in each of the years 1978, 1988, and 1998 were reviewed. The authorship panel of each article was examined for number of authors, gender, educational degree category, and subspecialty area of publication. Data were analyzed for trends in female authorship and the association of gender with the other design variables. Results A total of 2,463 articles were analyzed. The average percentage of female authorship increased from 4.1% in 1978 to 8.7% in 1988 and 12.4% in 1998, and the percentage of articles with a female “first author” increased from 3.2% to 7.4% and 11.4% for the same years, respectively. Each of these increases was statistically significant (P < .001). The weighted rank of female authorship also increased from 0.063 to 0.164 and 0.243 for the same years, respectively (P < .001). With respect to subspecialty publication, women were first authors of 14.7% of articles concerning pediatric otolaryngology but accounted for 9.9% or less of the first authors in the other subspecialty areas (P < .001). Female authors were also much more likely to be nonphysicians (P < .001) than men. Conclusions There has been a significant trend toward increased female authorship in the otolaryngology literature. A significant portion of this is accounted for by nonphysician female authors, and female authorship tends to be concentrated in pediatric otolaryngology.Keywords
This publication has 9 references indexed in Scilit:
- Training the physician‐scholar in otolaryngology‐head and neck surgeryOtolaryngology -- Head and Neck Surgery, 1999
- Peer Review: Studying the Major Otolaryngology JournalsThe Laryngoscope, 1999
- What Are the Factors Determining Authorship and the Order of the Authors' Names?JAMA, 1998
- AuthorshipJama-Journal Of The American Medical Association, 1998
- The Contributions of Authors to Multiauthored Biomedical Research PapersJama-Journal Of The American Medical Association, 1994
- Contempo: PediatricsJAMA, 1994
- Clinical Research in Otolaryngology JournalsJAMA Otolaryngology–Head & Neck Surgery, 1991
- The Status of Women at One Academic Medical CenterJAMA, 1990
- The Order of Authorship: Who's on First?JAMA, 1990