COVID-19 and Gender Differences in Family Medicine Scholarship

Ann Fam Med. 2022 Jan-Feb;20(1):32-34. doi: 10.1370/afm.2756.

Abstract

This bibliometric analysis seeks to explore how the COVID-19 pandemic impacted submission rates to Annals of Family Medicine by gender. Women represented 46.3% of all manuscript submissions included in our study (n = 1,964/4,238), spanning from January 1, 2015 to July 15, 2020. The overall volume of submissions increased during COVID-19 in comparison to pre-pandemic months; however, this increase was not evenly distributed among men and women (122% increase vs 101% increase, respectively). In the early months of the pandemic, 244 submissions were authored by men (58.5%), and 173 submissions were authored by women (41.5%). The gap in women's submission rates is troubling, as it suggests they may be at greater risk of falling behind male colleagues during and beyond the COVID-19 pandemic.

Keywords: authorship; bibliometrics; disparities; gender; scholarly productivity; women.

MeSH terms

  • Authorship
  • COVID-19*
  • Family Practice
  • Fellowships and Scholarships
  • Female
  • Humans
  • Male
  • Pandemics
  • SARS-CoV-2
  • Sex Factors