The Under-representation and Stagnation of Female, Black, and Hispanic Authorship in the Journal of the American Medical Association and the New England Journal of Medicine

Abstract

Publication in leading medical journals is critical to knowledge dissemination and academic advancement alike. Leveraging a novel dataset comprised of nearly all articles published in JAMA and NEJM from 1990 to 2020, along with established reference works for name identification, we explore changing authorship demographics in two of the world’s leading medical journals. Our main outcomes are the annual proportion of male and female authors and the proportion of racial/ethnic identities in junior and senior authorship positions for articles published in JAMA and NEJM since 1990. We found that women remain under-represented in research authorship in both JAMA (at its peak, 38.1% of articles had a female first author in 2011) and NEJM (peaking at 28.2% in 2002). The rate of increase is so slow that it will take more than a century for both journals to reach gender parity. Black and Hispanic researchers have likewise remained under-represented as first and last authors in both journals, even using the best-case scenario. Their appearance as authors has remained stagnant for three decades, despite attention to structural inequalities in medical academia. Thus, analysis of authorship demographics in JAMA and NEJM over the past three decades reveals the existence of inequalities in high-impact medical journal authorship. Gender and racial/ethnic disparities in authorship may both reflect and further contribute to disparities in academic advancement.

A Perspective on Writing a Perspective: A Scholarly Opportunity That Should Not Be Overlooked

“…Even for perspective-type articles, Silver and colleagues 18 found that women were underrepresented as physician first and last authors in four of the highest impact general pediatric journals, and Larson et al 19 found similar underrepresentation for women physician authors in two high-impact dermatology journals. Moreover, the number of Black and Hispanic research authors has continued to remain underrepresented as first and last authors in two of the highest impact medical journals ( Journal of the American Medical Association and New England Journal of Medicine ) with worldwide readership 15 . Notably, their authorship in these journals has remained stagnant for 30 years, despite recent attention to structural inequalities that continue to persist in academia 15 .…”

“…Moreover, the number of Black and Hispanic research authors has continued to remain underrepresented as first and last authors in two of the highest impact medical journals ( Journal of the American Medical Association and New England Journal of Medicine ) with worldwide readership 15 . Notably, their authorship in these journals has remained stagnant for 30 years, despite recent attention to structural inequalities that continue to persist in academia 15 . Not only can perspective-type articles serve as a unique venue for underrepresented faculty to share their knowledge and provide insight that could influence their field but they also could represent a critical platform for editorial leaders to create change and equity in the persistent gender and racial publication gap.…”

“…Perspective-type articles also offer an excellent publication pathway for underrepresented academic faculty. Because there continues to be gender [13][14][15][16] and racial inequity 13,14 in publishing in high-impact journals, this article type offers an opportunity for individuals to express viewpoints on pertinent topics related to their own field. Women continue to be undercompensated and less likely to be promoted in academic rank compared with their male counterparts.…”

“…15 Notably, their authorship in these journals has remained stagnant for 30 years, despite recent attention to structural inequalities that continue to persist in academia. 15 Not only can perspective-type articles serve as a unique venue for underrepresented faculty to share their knowledge and provide insight that could influence their field but they also could represent a critical platform for editorial leaders to create change and equity in the persistent gender and racial publication gap.…”

White male authors still dominate top academic medical publishing, two studies report

“…In another paper, published in the Journal of Racial and Ethnic Health Disparities , researchers at Harvard University, the University of Oxford, the University of Toronto, and other centres found that female, Black, and Hispanic authors were under-represented in both JAMA and NEJM . They created a database of all articles published in both journals from 1990 to 2020 and looked at the proportion of women and people from ethnic minorities as junior and senior authors of “research” and “original” articles 3…”