Gender differences in authorship of obstetrics and gynecology publications during the coronavirus disease 2019 pandemic

Abstract

There has been an exponential increase in publications on coronavirus disease 2019 (COVID-19) since the beginning of the COVID-19 pandemic, with more than 30,000 publications on PubMed as of July 12, 2020.1The EconomistCOVID-19: scientific research on the coronavirus is being released in a torrent.https://www.economist.com/science-and-technology/2020/05/07/scientific-research-on-the-coronavirus-is-being-released-in-a-torrentDate: 2020Date accessed: July 11, 2020Google Scholar,2National Institutes of HealthCoronavirus (COVID-19).https://www.nih.gov/coronavirusDate: 2020Date accessed: July 11, 2020Google Scholar It is uncertain whether the impact of COVID-19, from an academic productivity perspective, differentially affects males and females. In the specialty of obstetrics and gynecology, 57% of physicians are female, who, in academics, skew toward junior faculty.3Hofler L. Hacker M.R. Dodge L.E. Ricciotti H.A. Subspecialty and gender of obstetrics and gynecology faculty in department-based leadership roles.Obstet Gynecol. 2015; 125: 471-476Crossref PubMed Scopus (48) Google Scholar, 4Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)Physician specialty data report: active physicians by sex and specialty, 2015.https://www.aamc.org/data-reports/workforce/interactive-data/active-physicians-sex-and-specialty-2015Date: 2015Date accessed: July 11, 2020Google Scholar, 5Association of American Medical Colleges (AAMC)Distribution of full-time women m.d. faculty by department and rank, 2015.https://www.aamc.org/system/files/reports/1/2015table4a.pdfDate: 2016Date accessed: July 11, 2020Google Scholar With the current gender composition of physicians in obstetrics and gynecology, there may be impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic on family and work balance unique to the speciality.6Flaherty C. Faculty home work.https://www.insidehighered.com/news/2020/03/24/working-home-during-covid-19-proves-challenging-faculty-membersDate: 2020Date accessed: July 11, 2020Google Scholar There may also be an implicit bias among journal editors toward senior researchers.7Merton R.K. The Matthew effect in science.Science. 1968; 159: 56-62Crossref PubMed Scopus (4067) Google Scholar,8Blank M.R. The effects of double-blind versus single-blind reviewing: experimental evidence from the American Economic Review.Am Econ Rev. 1991; 81: 1041-1067Google Scholar This may be more pronounced at a time when rapid dissemination of COVID-19 publications has increased value. The primary objective of this study was to compare the gender of the first authors who published COVID-19 and non–COVID-19 topics from January 2020 to June 2020 in the 6 journals in obstetrics and gynecology with the highest impact factors. Original research articles published from January 2020 to June of 2020 in Human Reproduction Update, American Journal of Obstetrics and Gynecology, Fertility and Sterility, Human Reproduction, Obstetrics and Gynecology, and Gynecologic Oncology were identified. The pre–COVID-19 era was defined as the period from January 2020 to February 2020, whereas the COVID-19 era was defined as the period from March 2020 to June. Initially, gender and academic rank for the first authors were determined by inspecting the name and contact information. If either information was not clearly delineated, Google searches and inspection of institutional websites were performed. Investigators with a rank of assistant professor or below were considered junior faculty; associate professors, full professors, and directors were considered senior faculty. A binomial probability calculator or chi-square test was used to compare gender distributions and academic rank where appropriate. A total of 655 obstetrical and gynecologic articles were published between January 2020 and June 2020 where first author gender could be identified (Table). Representing 57% of the academic faculty, females had a disproportionately higher number of first author publications at 63.1% (P<.0001). Overall, publications were more likely to have junior faculty as the first author (P<.0001). There was no difference in academic rank among authors of COVID-19–focused publications (P=.389). Compared with the pre–COVID-19 era, there was no difference in the gender of the first authors during the COVID-19 era (P=.471). In the COVID-19 era, there was a significant decrease in publications by junior faculty (P<.0001).TableChange in authorship gender before and during the COVID-19 pandemicCharacteristicPre–COVID-19 (Jan. to Feb.; n=228)During COVID-19 (March to June; n=427)P valueAuthorship.471 Male80162 Female148265Academic rank.0001aStatistically significant. Student6775 Junior faculty74134 Senior faculty62169 Unknown2549COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019.Cook. Coronavirus authorship. AJOG MFM 2021.a Statistically significant. Open table in a new tab COVID-19, coronavirus disease 2019. Cook. Coronavirus authorship. AJOG MFM 2021. This study found that most publications in high impact factor journals in obstetrics and gynecology have females as first authors. There was no change in the rates of females as first authors following the start of the COVID-19 pandemic. The pandemic did result in a higher proportion of subsequent publications being authored by senior researchers. This suggests that junior faculty are more vulnerable to the social and professional disruptions that the COVID-19 pandemic has incurred. A limitation to this study is that the senior authors and genders were not analyzed for comparison. These findings suggest the need to further explore the intersection between gender differences in academic rank and publications among specialties beyond obstetrics and gynecology.