Are Women Underrepresented as Authors in Rheumatology RCTs?

TOPLINE: 

Women are underrepresented as authors in randomized controlled trials (RCTs) published in rheumatology from 2009 to 2023. RCTs from Africa had higher women representation as authors, while RCTs from Asia and Europe and industry-funded RCTs had lower representation of women.

METHODOLOGY:

• Researchers analyzed 1092 RCTs published in rheumatology from 2009 to 2023 involving 10,794 authors to evaluate the temporal trends and the factors influencing women’s authorship.
• The gender of authors was determined on the basis of their first names and countries of affiliation using a gender application programming interface service.
• The study assessed the association of women’s authorship with various factors using generalized estimating equations by considering women’s gender as the main binary outcome.
• Various covariates influencing women’s authorship such as geographic location, sponsorship type, intervention type, and journal impact factor were also evaluated.

TAKEAWAY:

• Overall, women accounted for 34.1% of authors in RCTs published in rheumatology from 2009 to 2023. They had less representation as first and last authors than men (36.8% vs 50.0% and 26.1% vs 61.2%, respectively).
• RCTs from Africa had higher odds of being authored by women than those from North America (odds ratio [OR], 2.34; 95% CI, 1.02-5.38). Women were also less represented as authors in RCTs from Asia and Europe.
• Their representation as authors was lower in industry-funded RCTs as well (OR, 0.64; 95% CI, 0.56-0.73).
• Women were less likely to be in senior author positions such as last (OR, 0.72) or penultimate (OR, 0.70; P < .001 for both) authors than in middle author positions.

IN PRACTICE:

“Implementing structured policies and supporting women through mentorship and leadership opportunities are crucial steps toward a more inclusive and dynamic research environment,” the authors wrote.

SOURCE:

This study was led by Kim Lauper, MD, Geneva University Hospitals, Division of Rheumatology and Faculty of Medicine, University of Geneva, Geneva, Switzerland, and was published online on August 26, 2024, in medRxiv.

LIMITATIONS: 

This study relied on binary gender data, which did not encompass nonbinary or other gender identities. Moreover, the accuracy of gender determination from names, although robust, had inherent limitations that could have affected the interpretation of results.

DISCLOSURES:

This study did not receive any funding. The authors declared no competing interests.

This article was created using several editorial tools, including AI, as part of the process. Human editors reviewed this content before publication.