S1271 Female Participation in Editorial Boards of Major Gastroenterology Journals: An Eye-Opener

Abstract

INTRODUCTION: Despite substantial progress for women in medicine, women remain underrepresented in many aspects of the scholarly publication process. Appointment to an editorial board conveys a degree of prestige that may influence hiring, tenure, or promotion decisions and provides opportunities for intellectual growth and networking that can improve the quality of a research program. Women face multiple challenges in representation in medicine and our aim was to look at the representation of women in the scholarly publication process. The purpose of this study was to analyze the proportion of female representation in editorial boards of the major gastroenterology journals. METHODS: We examined the four major gastroenterology journals, American Journal of Gastroenterology, Gastroenterology, Gastrointestinal Endoscopy, and Hepatology. The editorial boards of each journal from 2020 were included. The gender of each person, and the total number of individuals as editors and on the editorial board were abstracted. The number of females on the editorial boards were compared to the total number of individuals. RESULTS: There were a total of 511 individuals across the four major journals included as editors, associate, or deputy editors and on the editorial boards of the journals. The total number of women included as associate or deputy editors varied but remained significantly below that of men. (See Figure 1). None of the editors in chiefs of the major gastroenterology journals were females. Similarly, the representation of women on editorial boards was extremely low and significantly below that of men. (See Figure 2). CONCLUSION: There were significant disparities in female representation in editorial boards across the major gastroenterology journals. Addressing these disparities may promote academic advancement for female gastroenterologists and promote greater equality of participation in the scholarly peer-review process.Figure 1