Diversity at 100: women and underrepresented minorities in the ESA

Beck, Christopher W.; Boersma, Kate S.; Tysor, C Susannah; Middendorf, George

doi:10.1890/14.wb.011

Cited by 25 publications

(24 citation statements)

References 16 publications

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“…However, these gender ratios are substantially lower than the proportion of women in the broader ecological community. For example, the membership of British Ecological Society, which owns five of the journals examined here, was 39.9% women in 2014 (http://www.britishecologicalsociety.org/making-ecology-for-all-part-2), and the membership of the comparable North American society, the Ecological Society of America, was 37% as of 2010 (Beck, Boersma, Tysor, & Middendorf, ). In 2016, 40% of all members of the Society for the Study of Evolution (which publishes Evolution ) were women, but only 33% of nonstudent members were women (Débarre et al, ), very close to the proportion of editors that handled papers for Evolution in 2015.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender diversity of editorial boards and gender differences in the peer review process at six journals of ecology and evolution

Fox

Duffy

Fairbairn

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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Despite substantial progress for women in science, women remain underrepresented in many aspects of the scholarly publication process. We examined how the gender diversity of editors and reviewers changed over time for six journals in ecology and evolution (2003–2015 for four journals, 2007–2015 or 2009–2015 for the other two), and how several aspects of the peer review process differed between female and male editors and reviewers. We found that for five of the six journals, women were either absent or very poorly represented as handling editors at the beginning of our dataset. The representation of women increased gradually and consistently, with women making up 29% of the handling editors (averaged across journals) in 2015, similar to the representation of women as last authors on ecology papers (23% in 2015) but lower than the proportion of women among all authors (31%) and among members of the societies that own the journals (37%–40%). The proportion of women among reviewers has also gradually but consistently increased over time, reaching 27% by 2015. Female editors invited more female reviewers than did male editors, and this difference increased with age of the editor. Men and women who were invited to review did not differ in whether they responded to the review invitation, but, of those that responded, women were slightly more likely to agree to review. In contrast, women were less likely than men to accept invitations to serve on journal editorial boards. Our analyses indicate that there has been progress in the representation of women as reviewers and editors in ecology and evolutionary biology, but women are still underrepresented among the gatekeepers of scholarly publishing relative to their representation among researchers.

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Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Gender diversity of editorial boards and gender differences in the peer review process at six journals of ecology and evolution

Fox

Duffy

Fairbairn

et al. 2019

Ecology and Evolution

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“…However, women were better represented as first authors on papers in our dataset, albeit only slightly (39% and 35%), than in the global scientific literature (~34%; Larivière et al, ). For comparison, the membership of the British Ecological Society, which owns five of the journals in our submitted papers dataset, was 40% women in 2014 (www.britishecologicalsociety.org/making-ecology-for-all-part-2), and the membership of the Ecological Society of America, the comparable North American society, was 37% women as of 2010 (Beck, Boersma, Tysor, & Middendorf, ). The representation of women as first authors on papers is thus fairly similar to their representation in these two ecological societies.…”

Section: Discussionmentioning

confidence: 99%

Patterns of authorship in ecology and evolution: First, last, and corresponding authorship vary with gender and geography

Fox

Ritchey

Paine

2018

Ecology and Evolution

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The position of an author on the byline of a paper affects the inferences readers make about their contributions to the research. We examine gender differences in authorship in the ecology literature using two datasets: submissions to six journals between 2010 and 2015 (regardless of whether they were accepted), and manuscripts published by 151 journals between 2009 and 2015. Women were less likely to be last (i.e., “senior”) authors (averaging ~23% across journals, years, and datasets) and sole authors (~24%), but more likely to be first author (~38%), relative to their overall frequency of authorship (~31%). However, the proportion of women in all authorship roles, except sole authorship, has increased year‐on‐year. Women were less likely to be authors on papers with male last authors, and all‐male papers were more abundant than expected given the overall gender ratio. Women were equally well represented on papers published in higher versus lower impact factor journals at all authorship positions. Female first authors were less likely to serve as corresponding author of their papers; this difference increased with the degree of gender inequality in the author's home country, but did not depend on the gender of the last author. First authors from non‐English‐speaking countries were less likely to serve as corresponding author of their papers, especially if the last author was from an English‐speaking country. That women more often delegate corresponding authorship to one of their coauthors may increase the likelihood that readers undervalue their role in the research by shifting credit for their contributions to coauthors. We suggest that author contribution statements be more universally adopted and that these statements declare how and/or why the corresponding author was selected for this role.

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“…In ecology, women represented 37% of ESA membership in 2010, and the proportion of minorities in the ESA was threefold smaller than in the U.S. population (Beck et al. ). Lockwood et al.…”

Section: Dissolving Barriers To Engagement In Ecologymentioning

confidence: 99%

“…1). Ecology as a discipline has made great strides over recent decades, and yet, challenges regarding career paths, inclusion, and communication with the public persist (Campbell et al 2005, Beck et al 2014, McGlynn 2017.…”

Section: Introductionmentioning

confidence: 99%

How do we ensure the future of our discipline is vibrant? Student reflections on careers and culture of ecology

et al. 2018

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. 2018. How do we ensure the future of our discipline is vibrant? Student reflections on careers and culture of ecology. Ecosphere 9(2):e02099. 10.1002/ecs2.2099Abstract. Ecology must attract and retain diverse talented people to produce innovative research and relevant solutions to 21st-century environmental problems. Careers and culture form the foundation of scientific advancement, and substantial progress has been made over recent decades in both realms. Yet, important challenges persist in expanding career paths, inclusion of underrepresented groups, and communication with the public. The ESA Student Section organized a horizon scanning exercise to address the following goals: (1) to identify challenges that 21st-century ecologists contend with or expect to contend with in careers and outreach to society, (2) to anticipate opportunities to help ecologists meet challenges, and (3) to identify concrete steps that could be taken by individual laboratories, institutions, and the ESA to foster progress. In spring 2016, the ESA Student Section solicited input from student members and organized a working group to assess the state of the discipline and to envision how we might cultivate a more inclusive and effective community. We identified three major challenges. First, PhDs are produced faster than academic positions become available and disconnects between academia and other sectors may keep early-career ecologists from realizing the breadth of available positions. We propose an online jobs hub to make non-academic sectors more accessible to ecologists. We also suggest students develop skills portfolios to prepare for non-academic positions. Second, the composition of people who are ecologists differs from broader society, partially due to implicit biases and institutional barriers. We propose steps to reduce attrition of diversity in ecology that include countering implicit biases and creating mentorship networks. We offer steps to improve recruitment by increasing awareness of ecology among high school students and undergraduates and providing opportunities to engage in ecological research. Finally, ecology is only relevant if the public perceives it to be. We must improve science communication and begin cultivating trust. We propose that ad hoc communication by all ecologists is insufficient; ❖ www.esajournals.org 1 February 2018 ❖ Volume 9(2) ❖ Article e02099 translational ecologists should be hired in every department and formal training in translational ecology is necessary. We hope this paper catalyzes critical thinking and partnerships among students, professional ecologists, and the ESA to ensure the future of ecology is vibrant.

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Diversity at 100: women and underrepresented minorities in the ESA

Cited by 25 publications

References 16 publications

Gender diversity of editorial boards and gender differences in the peer review process at six journals of ecology and evolution

Gender diversity of editorial boards and gender differences in the peer review process at six journals of ecology and evolution

Patterns of authorship in ecology and evolution: First, last, and corresponding authorship vary with gender and geography

How do we ensure the future of our discipline is vibrant? Student reflections on careers and culture of ecology

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