107 Composition and Gender Distribution of Editorial Boards for Top Neurosurgical Journals

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Women are underrepresented in academic medicine, most notably in surgical subspecialties. Despite increasing numbers of female neurosurgery residents, female neurosurgeons are not obtaining competitive national positions at comparable rates. Serving as a journal editor is one measure of academic success. METHODS: This is a cross-sectional study of editorial boards for the top 10 English-language neurosurgical journals (Journal of Neurosurgery, Neurosurgery, JNS: Spine, World Neurosurgery, Neurosurgical Focus, JNS: Pediatrics, Acta Neurochirurgica, Surgical Neurology International, Neurosurgical Review, and Neurosurgical Clinics). Board members were identified from journal websites. Data was obtained from journal websites, program faculty lists, or physician online profiles. Editors with medical degrees (MD or equivalent) were included. Gender differences were compared using Student’s t-test and chi-squared analysis. RESULTS: 722 board members were examined (female n=65; male n=650; unidentified n=7). Overall, women had fewer years in practice (p=0.002) while men were more likely to have additional degrees (p=0.009) and to have higher h-indices (p<0.0001). Within the editorial boards of Neurosurgery and Acta Neurochirurgica, men were more likely to have been in practice longer (p=0.014;p=0.023), and to have higher h-indices (p=0.003;p=0.025). Male editors for JNS: Spine and World Neurosurgery were more likely to have higher h-indices (p=0.007;p=0.018). CONCLUSION: Women constitute ∼8% of the editorial boards for top neurosurgical journals. While this is comparable to the amount of practicing female academic neurosurgeons, much needs to be done to achieve gender parity in competitive, high-ranking positions. The differences in years in practice and h-index suggest that this discrepancy may improve with time as more women enter practice and produce scientific literature. Efforts to recruit and retain women in neurosurgery should be pursued to rectify this discrepancy.