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Cited by 121Diversity and Career in MedicineSex and Gender in Healthcarescientometrics and bibliometrics research

Assessment of Women Physicians Among Authors of Perspective-Type Articles Published in High-Impact Pediatric Journals

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Silver, Julie K., Poorman, Julie A., Reilly, Julia M., Spector, Nancy D., Goldstein, Richard, Zafonte, Ross D.·2018·JAMA Network Open
DOI 10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0802PMC PMC6324294
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Abstract

Importance: Most pediatricians are women; however, women pediatricians are underrepresented in academic leadership positions such as department chairs and journal editors and among first authors of original research articles published in pediatric journals. Publication of all types of articles, particularly in high-impact specialty journals, is crucial to career building and academic success. Objective: To examine the gender-related profile associated with authors of perspective-type articles in the 4 highest-impact general pediatric journals to determine whether women physicians were similarly underrepresented. Design and Setting: Cross-sectional study of perspective-type articles published between 2013 and 2017 in the 4 highest-impact general pediatric journals: Academic Pediatrics, JAMA Pediatrics, The Journal of Pediatrics, and Pediatrics. Main Outcomes and Measures: The primary outcome measure was the number and percentage of first-author women physicians as compared with men physicians. Secondary outcome measures included number and percentage of all men and all women among last authors and coauthors associated with physician first authors. Results: A total of 425 perspective-type articles were identified, with physicians listed as the first author on 338 (79.5%). Women were underrepresented among physician first authors of known gender (140 of 336 [41.7%]), particularly among physician first authors of article categories described as scholarly (range, 15.4%-44.1%) vs categories described as narrative (range, 52.9%-65.6%) in nature. Women were also underrepresented among last authors and coauthors of articles attributed to both men and women physician first authors, although the underrepresentation of women among last authors and coauthors was more pronounced if a man physician was the first author. Conclusions and Relevance: Because perspective-type articles provide an opportunity for authors to express their opinions, provide insights that may influence their field, and enhance their academic resumes, there is a need for pediatric journal editors and leaders of medical societies who are associated with these journals to ensure the equitable inclusion of women in medicine. A hallmark of best practices for diversity and inclusion in academic medicine is transparency with regard to reporting of gender disparities in all areas of scholarship attribution and credit.

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  • Female academics continue to lag behind in terms of key output criteria, such as citations and visibility.

    “Female academics continue to lag behind in terms of key output criteria, such as citations and visibility33–37.”

    From Scientific publications that use promotional language in the abstract receive more citations and public attention (2025) · cites this paper as [37]

    The Discussion (page unavailable) reports that women physicians were underrepresented among authors of scholarly perspective-type articles, supporting a narrower claim about publication visibility. The paper does not establish that female academics generally receive fewer citations; its findings concern authorship in four pediatric journals. (LLM, conf=0.86)

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Authors
Silver, J. K., Poorman, J. A., Reilly, J. M., Spector, N. D., Goldstein, R., & Zafonte, R. D.
Affiliations
  • Harvard University (US)
  • Drexel University (US)
Corresponding author
Silver, Julie K.
ORCID
Venue
JAMA Network Open
Publisher
American Medical Association (AMA)
Published
2018-07-20
Volume
1
Issue
3
Pages
e180802
ISSN
2574-3805 (ISSN-L)
DOI
10.1001/jamanetworkopen.2018.0802
PMC
PMC6324294
OpenAlex
W2883768506
Cited by
121
References
44
Citations by year
2026: 2 · 2025: 8 · 2024: 9 · 2023: 8 · 2022: 28 · 2021: 15 · 2020: 20 · 2019: 28 · 2018: 3
FWCI
30.79
Type
journal article
Language
en
Open access
Licence
cc-by
Locations
  • JAMA Network Open (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • Europe PMC (PubMed Central) (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed Central (publishedVersion, cc-by)
  • PubMed (publishedVersion)
Topics
  • Social Sciences › Gender Studies › Diversity and Career in Medicine
  • Health Sciences › Medicine › Public Health, Environmental and Occupational Health › Sex and Gender in Healthcare
  • Social Sciences › Decision Sciences › Statistics, Probability and Uncertainty › scientometrics and bibliometrics research
Keywords
gender disparities, women physicians, authorship, first authors, academic medicine, gender equity, diversity and inclusion, pediatric journals, authorship credit
MeSH terms
Authorship, Cross-Sectional Studies, Female, Humans, Male, Pediatrics, Periodicals as Topic, Physicians, Women, Publishing, Journal Impact Factor

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