The Leadership Ceiling in Global Radiology: A 2024–2026 High-Throughput Algorithmic Audit of Gender Representation in Senior Authorship
Publication type
journal article
Publication date
July 2026
Author(s)
Wang, Tanche (Jimmy)
Publisher
Elsevier BV
Language
English
View point(s)
University Rankings
Abstract
Rationale and objectives: To establish a 2026 global benchmark for senior authorship gender representation in high-impact imaging journals and identify structural barriers to digital metadata visibility.
Materials and methods: An algorithmic audit analyzed 6454 publications from seven leading radiology journals compiled between January 2024 and February 2026. Senior author gender was inferred utilizing the validated gender-guesser name-inference engine. Pearson's Chi-squared test compared gender distributions across journals. A dynamic, web-based dashboard was developed using a Python-Streamlit framework to facilitate continuous, live data exploration.
Results: The global female senior authorship rate across successfully classified data was established at 17.70% (1144/3717). Significant variation was found by journal (x2=34.19, p < 0.0001). The Journal of the American College of Radiology (JACR) demonstrated the highest representation (37.17%), while technical subspecialty journals showed lower parity. A profound "Metadata Gap" was identified, with 42.42% (2737/6454) of the total cohort lacking identifiable gender markers or sufficient name strings in professional publishing summaries to allow for algorithmic inference.
Conclusion: A profound gender gap persists in global senior research leadership within imaging specialties. Enhancing publishing metadata hygiene is an essential step for accurate institutional equity tracking. Informatics-driven auditing via live dashboards provides a scalable roadmap for modern departmental and institutional accountability.
Part of
Academic Radiology
ISSN
1076-6332