June 2022
Volume 63, Issue 7
Open Access
ARVO Annual Meeting Abstract  |   June 2022
Effect of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Authorship Gender Disparities in the Ophthalmology Literature
Author Affiliations & Notes
  • Meghana Kalavar
    Havener Eye Institute, The Ohio State University, Columbus, Ohio, United States
    University of Miami Health System Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida, United States
  • Arjun Watane
    Yale University, New Haven, Connecticut, United States
    University of Miami Health System Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida, United States
  • Prashanth G Iyer
    University of Miami Health System Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida, United States
  • Kara Cavuoto
    University of Miami Health System Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida, United States
  • Julia A Haller
    Wills Eye Hospital, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States
  • Jayanth Sridhar
    University of Miami Health System Bascom Palmer Eye Institute, Miami, Florida, United States
  • Footnotes
    Commercial Relationships   Meghana Kalavar None; Arjun Watane None; Prashanth Iyer None; Kara Cavuoto None; Julia Haller None; Jayanth Sridhar None
  • Footnotes
    Support  NIH Core Grant P30EY014801
Investigative Ophthalmology & Visual Science June 2022, Vol.63, 3388 – A0175. doi:
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      Meghana Kalavar, Arjun Watane, Prashanth G Iyer, Kara Cavuoto, Julia A Haller, Jayanth Sridhar; Effect of the SARS-CoV-2 (COVID-19) Pandemic on Authorship Gender Disparities in the Ophthalmology Literature. Invest. Ophthalmol. Vis. Sci. 2022;63(7):3388 – A0175.

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      © ARVO (1962-2015); The Authors (2016-present)

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Abstract

Purpose : Studies in several fields of medicine have found that women published less during the COVID-19 pandemic, potentially due to an increase in domestic responsibilities. This study examines whether a similar pattern exists for female authorship in ophthalmology.
In this study, we compared the proportions of female authorship published in high-impact ophthalmology journals before and during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods : A cross-sectional study analyzing authorship gender of articles published during the COVID-19 pandemic (between July and September 2020) compared to matched articles published in the same journals before the COVID-19 pandemic (between July and September 2019). Gender of first and last author was analyzed using an online gender determination tool.

Results : A total of 577 articles and 1113 authors were analyzed. There was no significant difference in the average number of publications per male and female author when comparing pre-pandemic to during the COVID-19 pandemic. There was a significant increase in the percentage of female first authorship from pre-pandemic (32%) to during the COVID-19 pandemic (40%, p=0.01), but no significant increase in last authorship (p>0.05). When analyzing only research articles, a similar increase in female first authorship was noted when comparing pre-pandemic (31%) to during the COVID-19 pandemic (43%, p=0.02). No significant differences were noted when analyzing editorials (p>0.05).

Conclusions : While disparities continue to exist between male and female authorship, an increase in female first authorship was noted during the COVID-19 pandemic for overall articles as well as research articles.

This abstract was presented at the 2022 ARVO Annual Meeting, held in Denver, CO, May 1-4, 2022, and virtually.

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