Analysis of the distribution of authorship by gender in scientific output: A global perspective

•Gendered scholarly contributions and impact from 2003 to 2023 (Scopus).•The analysis unveils the trend towards a progressive and inclusive environment.•Countries are exhibiting a pronounced evolution in female authorship rates.•The study underscores the positive trends towards gender equity.•The relationship between human development index (HDI) and female authorships. This study presents a thorough examination of gendered scholarly contributions and impact from 2003 to 2023, encompassing details on 212,631,585 authorships indexed in Scopus. The analysis unveils promising advancements towards gender equity, demonstrating an increase in contributions from both genders, which indicates the trend towards a progressive and inclusive environment. These findings challenge an initial perception of male prolificacy. The positive trends extend to female-led research teams, highlighting a correlation between gender balance and leadership. This evolving landscape is reflected in the convergence of male and female authorship participation over time. A decline in citable papers suggests a narrowing of the productivity gap, which challenges gender disparities in impact metrics and emphasizes the multifaceted nature of scholarly excellence across genders. Our data and gender classification method also enables us to look into the country level in order to characterize gender distribution locally. Contrary to conventional assumptions, developing countries are exhibiting a pronounced evolution in female authorship rates. In summary, the study underscores the positive trends towards gender equity, advocating for sustained efforts to promote diversity and foster nuanced understanding in academia.