Gender Differences in Hepatology Medical Literature

Background Studies suggest that gender differences in academic medicine exist. Men frequently have better measures of performance such as number of publications, number of citations, remuneration, and funding. Aims To evaluate whether a gender disparity in authorship exists. Methods We recorded the gender of first and senior authors of original papers, editorials/reviews from liver-related manuscripts in Gastroenterology , Hepatology , Transplantation , American Journal of Gastroenterology , and Liver Transplantation from January 2014 to 2016. Results Of 2424 articles reviewed, we excluded 232 (10%) due to inability to determine gender. Among papers analyzed, 72.0% were original and 28.1% reviews/editorials with 65.1% of first authors being male and 34.9% female. Only 20.3% of papers with multiple authors had a female senior author. The proportion of male first and senior authorship between original papers and reviews/editorials was comparable. 72% of original papers had a male as first or senior author, but only 28% females. 71% of review/editorial papers had a male as first or senior author, but only 29% females. When the senior author of an original paper was female, 47.1% of first authors were male and 52.9% female. When the senior author was male, 67.1% of first authors were male and 32.9% female ( p