COVID-19 burdens worsen imbalance of women as lead research authors
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts
Women represented fewer first, last and corresponding authors during the early period of the pandemic, especially on COVID-19-related manuscripts, compared with other periods, according to a study published in The British Medical Journal.
Among the many fallout effects from the COVID-19 pandemic, many women in the health care field have had to adjust their work and home lives for virtual patient care and for changes in caregiver duties with schools and other institutions closing temporarily.
“Some people argue that the consequences of the lockdown measures have been a heavier burden on women researchers with children than on men with children because home working, home schooling and household tasks were mostly carried out by women,” Angèle Gayet-Ageron, MD, PhD, from University Hospitals of Geneva, Switzerland, and colleagues wrote.
The researchers wrote that although some studies that assessed how the early period of the pandemic affected representation of women in prominent authorship positions — specifically articles related to COVID-19 — they often included a broad range of article types including opinions, focused specialties or geographic region related to the pandemic.
To clarify the percentage of authorship positions held by women during the COVID-19 pandemic compared with the previous 2 years, Gayet-Ageron and colleagues reviewed 63,259 manuscripts submitted for publication to 11 journals between Jan. 1, 2018, and May 31, 2021, including 551,341 authors.
Corresponding authorship overlapped with first and last authorship in 30,703 studies and 25,039 manuscripts. The researchers were able to determine gender for 80.7% of authors.
Overall, there was a numerical underrepresentation of women in first (44.9%), last (31.1%) and corresponding authorship positions (37.7%), as well as among all co-authors (median percentage, 35.7%).
This remained similar for manuscripts focused on COVID-19 among female first (37.1%), last (27.9%) and corresponding (31.1%) authors, with the lowest values found between January and May 2020 (first, 29.4%; last, 21.1%; corresponding, 22.9%). In comparison, women served first authors on 44.9% of pandemic non-COVID-19 manuscripts and 46% of pre-pandemic manuscripts, with corresponding rates of 31.2% and 31.4% for last authors and 37.3% and 38.9% for corresponding authors.
Additionally, the proportions of female first (8.9%), last (3.5%) and corresponding authorship positions (7.8%) were significantly lower on COVID-19 manuscripts compared with pre-pandemic manuscripts, with the greatest difference occurring between January and May 2020 (first, –16.6%; last, –10.3%; corresponding, –16%).
Results from multivariable analysis showed that the probability of having a female first author decreased across groups during the pandemic (P < .001), with the lowest rates among COVID-19 manuscripts during the January to May period compared with pre-pandemic manuscripts (OR = 0.55; 95% CI, 0.43-0.7).
Similarly, the probability of a woman serving as last (P = .01) or corresponding (P < .001) author decreased during the pandemic and were lowest January to May 2020 (last, OR = 0.74; 95% CI, 0.57-0.97; corresponding, OR = 0.61; 95% CI, 0.49-0.77) and for COVID-19 manuscripts (last, adjusted OR = 0.93; 95% CI, 0.82-1.04; corresponding, adjusted OR = 0.72; 95% CI, 0.65-0.8).
“It seems likely that women had more difficulty pursuing their research activities — in view of their professional and family overloads — than their male counterparts,” Gayet-Ageron said in a press release.
It’s important to acknowledge this discrepancy given that study authorship is usually a factor used in promotions decision-making, according to the researchers.
“These authorship positions are used for decision-making, because they reflect the degree to which researchers contributed to the production of science,” Gayet-Ageron said. “The attainment of these key positions, alongside with the total number of articles published, are essential for moving up the academic ladder.
“The COVID-19 pandemic has enabled us to highlight the fact that women have been less involved in scientific research linked to COVID-19 and that they have occupied less prestigious authorship positions compared to their male colleagues,” she added. “This slowdown in their publications should be taken into consideration, especially when analyzing academic applications for which the number of published articles is still a determining factor. It would ensure that this does not have a negative impact on the development of their academic careers.”
Reference:
- The disappearance of women researchers in times of pandemic. https://www.unige.ch/communication/communiques/en/2021/la-disparition-des-femmes-chercheuses-en-periode-de-pandemie/. Published Oct. 6, 2021. Accessed Dec. 20, 2021.
Collapse
Read more about
Click Here to Manage Email Alerts