Gender Trends in Authorship of Gastroenterology Randomized Controlled Trial Literature

Abstract

Introduction: We describe female authorship trends in gastroenterology (GI) randomized controlled trial literature as a novel focus on gender bias in academic GI.

Methods: Using a systematic PubMed search, we extracted GI randomized controlled trial reports published from 2011 to 2022. We describe time trends in proportions of females among first and last authors overall and within GI subspecialties and high-impact journals.

Results: The proportion of females increased from 25.4% to 36.8% and from 14.3% to 24.8% among first and last authors, respectively. Smaller increases in female authorship occurred in most subgroups, although there were proportionately fewer females among authors in high-impact journals and advanced therapeutic endoscopy publications.

Discussion: Over the past decade, female authorship in GI RCT reports has increased. However, female representation, particularly among senior authors and in high-impact journals, remains significantly lower. Despite recent improvements, female still constitutes a minority of the authors of original GI RCTs.

Graphical abstract

Figure 1.

Trends in the proportion of females among first and last authors of gastroenterology randomized controlled trial reports published from 2011 through 2022 with 90% confidence limits.