Who Is Writing About Women in STEM in Higher Education in the United States? A Citation Analysis of Gendered Authorship.

Heidi Blackburn,Jason Heppler

doi:10.3389/fpsyg.2019.02979

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to identify trends in the representation of female authorship regarding the topic of the status of women in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) in higher education in the United States from 2007 to 2018 in prominent interdisciplinary journals. We conducted a comprehensive search for articles and collected the genders of the first and senior authors from 647 citations. We assessed the number of male versus female authors, the percentages of female first authors and senior authors, and the percentage of female corresponding authors for each year. Additionally, we also analyzed the citations to determine the journals and publishers who produced the most literature in this area. Women constituted 59% overall authorship and 34% first authorship. The top publishers in this area include Sage Publications, Springer/Nature, and Elsevier. Women constituted 60% of the first authors in STEM literature on the status of women and 38% of senior authors. Although there was growth over time in first authorship in STEM literature written by women, they continue to remain a minority in senior authorship. We suggest it is women that are leading this discussion, highlighting the additional lift that women in STEM in higher education must make; researching and publishing on their own experiences as part of their self-advocacy.

Highlights

In recent years, the emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States has had a tremendous impact on the professional literature generated on the topic
We addressed two research questions in this study: (1) Which journals lead in publishing literature regarding women in STEM in higher education in the United States?
Most of the publishers who are leading the conversation about women in STEM in higher education are found in the social sciences, not the science, technology, engineering, or mathematics disciplines

Summary

Introduction

The emphasis on science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) education in the United States has had a tremendous impact on the professional literature generated on the topic. Women faculty in STEM disciplines must challenge gendered teaching loads (Carrigan et al, 2011), biased tenure and promotion practices (Soto, 2014), workfamily imbalances (Bachman, 2011; Beddoes and Pawley, 2014; Myers, 2015; Tanenbaum, 2015), research (Cozzens, 2008; Howe et al, 2014; Deemer, 2015; Hart, 2016), harmful departmental policies (Holmes et al, 2016), and biased diversity hiring practices (Easley, 2013; King, 2013; Smith et al, 2015; Williams and Ceci, 2015). Women in STEM from underrepresented minorities (Armstrong and Jovanovic, 2017; Leggett-Robinson and Campbell Villa, 2019) and those on the LGBTQIA (Lesbian, Gay, Bisexual, Trans, Queer, Intersex, and Asexual) spectrum (Billimoria and Stewart, 2009; Patridge et al, 2014) have faced additional intersectional barriers, including institutional racism, tokenism, homophobia, and bullying (Armstrong and Jovanovic, 2015; Cascio, 2017)

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