Where are the women? Gender inequalities in COVID-19 research authorship
Publication type
journal article
Publication date
2020
Author(s)
Language
English
Discipline(s)
Abstract
Women account for about a third of all authors who published papers related to COVID-19 since the beginning of the outbreak in January 2020. Women’s representation is lower still for first and last authorship positions. Gender biases seem to be affecting COVID-19 research similar to other scientific areas, highlighting that women are consistently being under-represented. This may have implications for the availability and interrogation of sex-disaggregated data and therefore our understanding of COVID-19. These gender biases hint at wider gender inequalities in our global response to the pandemic, which may reduce the chance of dealing with it robustly and speedily. Women are under-represented as authors of research papers in many scientific areas, particularly in senior authorship positions.
Journal
BMJ global health
ISSN
2059-7908
Volume
5
Issue
7
Pagination
e002922