Gender Authorship Trends Among Craniofacial Publications: A 20-Year Analysis

Objective : This study aims to identify gender disparities within the subspecialty of craniofacial surgery as women surgeons remain underrepresented in academia and leadership, arenas heavily dictated by research productivity. Design : All craniofacial articles published in 3 major research journals from 2000 to 2020 were reviewed and evaluated in 5-year increments. Outcomes : Information regarding author gender, authorship distribution, geographic origin, and publication type was collected. ANOVA, χ², and logistic regression modeling were used for analysis. Results : In total, there were 3684 articles with 15 206 total authors—3128 (20.6%) were women, including 665 (21.3%) first authors, 1980 (63.2%) middle authors, and 487 (15.7%) senior authors. Mean women authorship increased significantly from 2000 to 2020 (0.33 vs 1.22 P <.001) with corresponding significant increases in first and senior authorship (8.63% vs 27.02; 5.65% vs 16.13%; P <.001). Statistically significant trends across time were observed for first and senior authorships (P <.001). Women were more likely to publish original publications as first and senior authors (OR: 1.83, P <.001; OR: 1.37, P =.0012). Women were less likely to publish editorial articles (OR 0.6, P <.001). The United States ranked third in publication output by female first authors but was behind all regions except Africa for output by female senior authors. Conclusion : Although female authorship has increased significantly over the last 2 decades, women remain a minority within the craniofacial literature. Further research is needed to elicit the root of these disparities.