Women underrepresented in retracted medical articles
Women filled just 23% of author slots in retracted medical articles, a new study finds.
Why it matters
- Highlights gender disparity in academic publishing and retractions.
By the numbers
- Women filled 23% of author slots in retracted articles.
- Study analyzed nearly 900 retracted articles published between 2008 and 2017.
- Women accounted for 16.5% of first-author slots and 12.7% of last-author slots in retracted papers.
The big picture
- Women are underrepresented in medical research generally, but even more so in retracted articles.
What they're saying
- Some suggest men may face more scrutiny due to higher visibility.
- Others propose traditional risk-taking behaviors may play a role.
- Questions raised about women's representation in non-retracted articles.
Caveats
- Gender-prediction tools are imperfect and may not capture non-binary identities.
- Accuracy may vary with non-Western names.
- Study author notes women's underrepresentation in senior roles may contribute to the disparity.
What’s next
- Further research needed to understand the root causes of this disparity.