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33rd Annual Scientific Meeting proceedings


Stream:   |   Session:
Date/Time: 30-11--0001 (00:00 - 00:00)   |   Location:
Unveiling Gender Disparity in Scientific Publications: Veterinary Surgery
Parakh I1, Pratschke K*1, MacKay JRD1, Paczesna A1, Mackay F1, Bristow P*2, Bowlt Blacklock KL*1
1University of Edinburgh, Edinburgh, United Kingdom, 2Dick White Referrals, Cambridge, United Kingdom.

Objectives:

Scientific progress is contingent upon the diversity of contributing voices, but gender disparities persist within scientific publications. The aim of this study was to explore author gender distribution in Veterinary Surgery. 

Methods:

Veterinary Surgery papers from 2002-2023 were collected. Data extracted included: year of publication; paper title; abstract; names of the first, second and last author; and author affiliations. Papers were categorised into: ‘small animal’ (further categorised as ‘orthopaedics/neurology’ or ‘soft tissue’), ‘large animal’, ‘exotics’, or ‘research/other’. Authors were assigned a binary gender using ‘Gender API’. Logistic regression models were used to predict author gender with year, author position (1st, 2nd, last), and paper category.

Results:

2881 papers were analysed, which included 2881 first authors, 2481 second authors, and 2791 last authors. Overall, 36% of authors were women: 43%, 37% and 28% of first, second and last author positions respectively were occupied by women. In this ten year span, women occupied a minimum of 29% (2002) and maximum 60% (2022) of first author positions, and a minimum of 10% (2002) and maximum of 36% (2023) of last author positions. Each year was associated with 5% increase in the odds of any author being a woman (p<0.001), but a 3% decrease in the odds of the last author being a woman (p=0.006). Papers categorised as ‘soft tissue’ were associated with a 68% increase in the odds of an author being a woman (p<0.001). 

Conclusions:

Women authors are consistently underrepresented in Veterinary Surgery. Further research is required into the causes so that ongoing work can dismantle gender biases.

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