Author Gender Inequality in Medical Imaging Journals and the COVID-19 Pandemic.

Abstract

BackgroundEarly reports show the unequal effect the COVID-19 pandemic might have on men versus women engaged in medical research.PurposeTo investigate whether the COVID-19 pandemic has had an impact on scientific publishing by female physicians in medical imaging.Materials and MethodsWe conducted a descriptive bibliometric analysis of first and last-author gender of papers submitted to the top 50 medical imaging journals from March to May 2020 (n=2480) compared to the same period of the year in 2018 (n=2238) and 2019 (n=2355). Manuscript title, date of submission, first and last name of first and last authors, journal impact factor and author country of provenance were recorded. The Gender-API software was used to determine author gender. Statistical analysis comprised Chi square tests and multivariable logistic regression.ResultsPercentages of female first- and last-authorship were 1172/3711 (31.6%) and 717/3711 (19.3%) in 2018- 2019 versus 725/2248 (32.3%) and 465/2248 (20.7%) in 2020 (p=0.61 and p=0.21 respectively), and of COVID-19-related papers 89/253 (35.2%) and 52/253 (20.6%) respectively. No associations were found between first and last author gender, year of publication and continent of provenance. First- and last-authorship of high-ranking papers was not in favor of North American females whatever the year: OR 0.79 (p=0.05) and OR 0.72 (p=0.02). Higher rates of female last-authorship of high-ranking papers were observed in Europe (p=0.003): OR 1.20 (p=0.21) in 2018-2019 multiplied by interaction term OR 1.52 (p=0.09) in 2020, and of female first-authorship of low-ranking papers in Asia: OR=1.38 [0.98-1.92] (p=0.06) in 2020. Female first- and last-authorship of COVID-19-related papers was overrepresented for lowest-rank papers (p=0.02 and p=0.01).ConclusionOne in three first authors and one in five last authors were female in 2018-2019 and 2020. While the first 2020 lockdown did not diminish the quantity of female publications, the impact upon the quality was variable.See also the editorial by Robbins and Khosa.