Gender imbalances in citation rates are mediated by field specific author gender distributions

Abstract

Gender biases are well documented in science and typically favor male scientists. In this context, a particularly pervasive gender bias is undercitation of publications authored by women, resulting in profound negative effects on academic visibility and career advancement. This bias has been well documented in fields where author gender distributions are strongly skewed towards men (e.g., astronomy, physics, neuroscience). By investigating citation practices in a field that has traditionally been more accessible to female scientists (Speech and Language Pathology, SLP), we demonstrate that gendered citation practices are mediated by author gender distribution, rather than being a universal pattern. Specifically, our results revealed a citation pattern in SLP that (a) overall tends to favor female authors, (b) persists after controlling for potential confounding factors and, (c) is particularly strong when female authors are citing publications involving female first and senior author teams. This research also implies that the implementation of effective measures to increase the number and influence of underrepresented individuals in specific fields of science may be suitable to mitigate downstream disadvantages for career advancement of either sex.