Women in Pediatrics Have Made Substantial Progress in Academic Publishing

Women make up nearly 70 percent of the workforce in the field of pediatrics. A new study by researchers at the University of Chicago and the University of Rochester in New York found that women have made significant progress as first or senior authors in three leading journals in the field.

Researchers conducted a retrospective review of original research articles published in Pediatrics, The Journal of Pediatrics, and JAMA Pediatrics from 2001 to 2022. From 2001 to 2022, 4,426 original research articles were studied. The results showed an increase in the proportion of women as first authors (23.7%), senior authors (22.8%), and as editorial board members (15.9%) over the 5 one-year time periods studied between 2001 and 2022. Overall, 67.3 percent of first authors were women, which is similar to the proportion of women who were assistant professors in 2021, and 48 percent of the senior authors were women, similar to the proportion of women who are associate professor or professor in 2021. The study also found that 47.4 percent of editorial board members from these journals were women.

The full study, “Representation of Women in Published Articles at 3 Academic Pediatric Journals: 2001 to 2022,” was published in the journal Pediatrics. It may be accessed here.