Skip to main content
SpringerLink
Log in

Women Representation on Editorial Boards in Latin America Journals: Promoting Gender Equity in Academic Surgery, Anesthesia, and Obstetrics

  • Surgery in Low and Middle Income Countries
  • Published:
World Journal of Surgery Aims and scope Submit manuscript

Abstract

Background

Inequitable representation in journal editorial boards may impact women’s career progression across surgical, anesthesia, and obstetric (SAO) specialties. However, data from Latin America are lacking. We evaluated women’s representation on editorial boards of Latin America SAO journals in 2021.

Methods

We conducted a cross-sectional analysis, retrieving journals through Scimago Journal and Country Rank 2020. Journals were included if active, focused on SAO topics, and publicly provided information on editorial board staff. Editorial board member names and positions were extracted from journals’ websites. Members were classified into senior (e.g., editor-in-chief), academic (e.g., reviewer), and non-academic roles (e.g., administrative office). Women’s representation was predicted from first names using Genderize.io. The number of women SAO physicians per country was obtained from articles and governmental reports.

Results

We included 19 of 25 identified journals and analyzed 1,318 names. Three anesthesiology, seven obstetric, and nine surgical journals represented five Latin American countries. Women held 17% (224/1,318) of board positions [p < 0.0001; 95% CI(0.14, 0.19)]. Women held fewer academic roles (14.3%, 155/1,084) compared to senior [28.9%, 64/221 (p < 0.001)] and non-academic roles [38.4%, 5/13 (p = 0.042)]. Surgical journals had fewer women (7.7%, 58/752) compared to anesthesia [25.5%, 52/204 (p = 0.006)] and obstetrics [31.5%, 114/362 (p < 0.001)]. Women's proportion on editorial boards increased according to the number of women SAO physicians per country (p < 0.001).

Conclusions

Our study assessed the composition of editorial boards from Latin America SAO journals and demonstrated that women remain underrepresented. Our findings highlight the need for regional strategies to advance women’s careers across SAO specialties.

This is a preview of subscription content, log in via an institution to check access.

Access this article

Log in via an institution

Price excludes VAT (USA)
Tax calculation will be finalised during checkout.

Instant access to the full article PDF.

Institutional subscriptions

Fig. 1
Fig. 2
Fig. 3
Fig. 4

Similar content being viewed by others

Data availability

All data generated or analyzed are included in this published article.

References

  1. Gottlieb M, Krzyzaniak SM, Mannix A et al (2021) Sex distribution of editorial board members among emergency medicine journals. Ann Emerg Med 77:117–123. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.annemergmed.2020.03.027

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  2. Ng-Kamstra JS, Greenberg SLM, Abdullah F et al (2016) Global surgery 2030: a roadmap for high income country actors. BMJ Glob Health 1:e000011. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2015-000011

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  3. Gallivan E, Arshad S, Skinner H et al (2021) Gender representation in editorial boards of international general surgery journals. BJS Open:zraa064. https://doi.org/10.1093/bjsopen/zraa064

    Article  Google Scholar 

  4. Jagsi R (2008) The representation of women on the editorial boards of major medical journals: a 35-year perspective. Arch Intern Med 168:544. https://doi.org/10.1001/archinte.168.5.544

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  5. Zhuge Y, Kaufman J, Simeone DM et al (2011) Is there still a glass ceiling for women in academic surgery? Ann Surg 253:637–643. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0b013e3182111120

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  6. Babic A, Hansez I (2021) The glass ceiling for women managers: antecedents and consequences for work-family interface and well-being at work. Front Psychol 12:618250. https://doi.org/10.3389/fpsyg.2021.618250

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  7. Fox CW, Duffy MA, Fairbairn DJ, Meyer JA (2019) Gender diversity of editorial boards and gender differences in the peer review process at six journals of ecology and evolution. Ecol Evol 9:13636–13649. https://doi.org/10.1002/ece3.5794

    Article  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  8. D’Armiento J, Witte SS, Dutt K et al (2019) Achieving women’s equity in academic medicine: challenging the standards. The Lancet 393:e15–e16. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30234-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  9. Clark J, Horton R (2019) What is The Lancet doing about gender and diversity? The Lancet 393:508–510. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)30289-2

    Article  Google Scholar 

  10. Bissing MA, Lange EMS, Davila WF et al (2019) Status of women in academic anesthesiology: a 10-year update. Anesth Analg 128:137–143. https://doi.org/10.1213/ANE.0000000000003691

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  11. Dada S, van Daalen KR, Barrios-Ruiz A et al (2022) Challenging the “old boys club” in academia: gender and geographic representation in editorial boards of journals publishing in environmental sciences and public health. PLOS Glob Public Health 2:e0000541. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pgph.0000541

    Article  Google Scholar 

  12. Aquino-Canchari CR, Chávez-Bustamante SG, Benites-Ibarra CA et al (2022) Participación femenina en los comités editoriales de revistas médicas en Latinoamérica. Biomedica 42:355–363. https://doi.org/10.7705/biomedica.6120

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  13. von Elm E, Altman DG, Egger M et al (2007) Strengthening the reporting of observational studies in epidemiology (STROBE) statement: guidelines for reporting observational studies. BMJ 335:806–808. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmj.39335.541782.AD

    Article  Google Scholar 

  14. Scimago Journal & Country Rank. https://www.scimagojr.com/. Accessed 16 Apr 2022

  15. SJR—About Us. https://www.scimagojr.com/aboutus.php. Accessed 24 Oct 2022

  16. SJR Country Graphs. https://www.scimagojr.com/countrygraph.php?year=2021&region=Latin%20America. Accessed 24 Oct 2022

  17. Ferreira J, Bowder AN, Faria I et al (2022) Evolution of gender disparities among brazilian surgical, anesthesia, and obstetric providers. J Surg Res 275:1–9. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.jss.2021.12.045

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  18. Meara JG, Leather AJM, Hagander L et al (2015) Global Surgery 2030: evidence and solutions for achieving health, welfare, and economic development. The Lancet 386:569–624. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(15)60160-X

    Article  Google Scholar 

  19. New World Bank country classifications by income level: 2021–2022. https://blogs.worldbank.org/opendata/new-world-bank-country-classifications-income-level-2021-2022. Accessed 24 Oct 2022

  20. Heidari S, Babor TF, De Castro P et al (2016) Sex and gender equity in research: rationale for the SAGER guidelines and recommended use. Res Integr Peer Rev 1:2. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-016-0007-6

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  21. Genderize.io|Determine the gender of a name. https://genderize.io/. Accessed 16 Apr 2022

  22. Hart KL, Perlis RH (2019) Trends in proportion of women as authors of medical journal articles, 2008–2018. JAMA Intern Med 179:1285. https://doi.org/10.1001/jamainternmed.2019.0907

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  23. DeFilippis EM, Sinnenberg L, Mahmud N et al (2021) Gender differences in publication authorship during COVID-19: a bibliometric analysis of high-impact cardiology journals. J Am Heart Assoc 10:e019005. https://doi.org/10.1161/JAHA.120.019005

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  24. Scheffer M (2020) Demografia Médica no Brasil. FMUSP, CFM, São Paulo, SP

  25. Anuario Estadístico de Salud 2020|SITEAL. https://siteal.iiep.unesco.org/bdnp/3974/anuario-estadistico-salud-2020. Accessed 20 Jun 2022

  26. Departamento de Estadisticas e Información de Salud. https://deis.minsal.cl/. Accessed 20 Jun 2022

  27. Heinze-Martin G, Olmedo-Canchola VH, Bazán-Miranda G, Bernard-Fuentes NA, Guízar-Sánchez DP (2018) Los médicos especialistas en México. Gac de Méx 154:555. https://doi.org/10.24875/GMM.18003770

    Article  Google Scholar 

  28. Histórico de alterações do QGIS 2.18. https://qgis.org/pt_BR/site/forusers/visualchangelog218/index.html. Accessed 20 Jun 2022

  29. Graham JW (2009) Missing data analysis: making it work in the real world. Annu Rev Psychol 60:549–576. https://doi.org/10.1146/annurev.psych.58.110405.085530

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  30. Nafade V, Sen P, Pai M (2019) Global health journals need to address equity, diversity and inclusion. BMJ Glob Health 4:e002018. https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjgh-2019-002018

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  31. Caribbean EC for LA and the (2017) Member States and associate members. https://www.cepal.org/en/about/member-states. Accessed 9 Jul 2022

  32. Knaul FM, Arreola-Ornelas H, Essue BM et al (2022) The feminization of medicine in Latin America: ‘more-the-merrier’ will not beget gender equity or strengthen health systems. Lancet Reg Health Am 8:100201. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.lana.2022.100201

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  33. Hinsley A, Sutherland WJ, Johnston A (2017) Men ask more questions than women at a scientific conference. PLoS One 12:e0185534. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0185534

    Article  CAS  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  34. Harris CA, Banerjee T, Cramer M et al (2019) Editorial (spring) board? Gender composition in high-impact general surgery journals over 20 years. Ann Surg 269:582–588. https://doi.org/10.1097/SLA.0000000000002667

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  35. Boniol M, McIsaac M, Xu L, et al Gender equity in the health workforce: Analysis of 104 countries. 8

  36. Ehrlich H, Nguyen J, Sutherland M et al (2021) Gender distribution among surgical journals’ editorial boards: empowering women surgeon scientists. Surgery 169:1346–1351. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.surg.2020.12.026

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  37. The Editors of the Lancet Group (2019) The Lancet Group’s commitments to gender equity and diversity. The Lancet 394:452–453. https://doi.org/10.1016/S0140-6736(19)31797-0

    Article  CAS  Google Scholar 

  38. Roman S, Sosa JA (2022) The ombuds for diversity, equity, and inclusion as an essential addition to the WJS editorial board. World J Surg 46:973–975. https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06512-1

    Article  PubMed  Google Scholar 

  39. Scientific Journals Commit to Diversity but Lack the Data - The New York Times. https://www.nytimes.com/2020/10/30/science/diversity-science-journals.html. Accessed 23 Jun 2022

  40. Dewidar O, Elmestekawy N, Welch V (2022) Improving equity, diversity, and inclusion in academia. Res Integr Peer Rev 7:4. https://doi.org/10.1186/s41073-022-00123-z

    Article  PubMed  PubMed Central  Google Scholar 

  41. Metz I, Harzing A-W, Zyphur MJ (2016) Of journal editors and editorial boards: who are the trailblazers in increasing editorial board gender equality?: journal editors and editorial boards. Br J Manag 27:712–726. https://doi.org/10.1111/1467-8551.12133

    Article  Google Scholar 

Download references

Acknowledgements

We would like to acknowledge Bruna Oliveira Trindade for having contributed to geospatial mapping and data visualization. We would also like to acknowledge Fundação Maria Emília, a Brazilian nonprofit organization that fosters research projects with social impact, which has been supporting the author LNC in her academic endeavors—the funder played no role in the design, collection, analysis, interpretation, and writing of this article.

Author information

Author notes

  1. Co-first authors: Letícia Nunes Campos and Abbie Naus.

Authors and Affiliations

  1. Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidade de Pernambuco, Rua Arnóbio Marquês, 310, Recife, Pernambuco, Brazil

    Letícia Nunes Campos

  2. Harvard Medical School, Program in Global Surgery and Social Change, Boston, MA, USA

    Letícia Nunes Campos, Abbie Naus, Isabella Faria & Tayana Assomptia Jean Pierre

  3. Faculty of Medical Sciences, Universidad Católica Argentina, Buenos Aires, Argentina

    Ayla Gerk Rangel

  4. Universidade Federal de Ciências da Saúde de Porto Alegre, Porto Alegre, RS, Brazil

    Gabriela Rangel Brandão

  5. Escola Bahiana de Medicina E Saúde Pública, Salvador, BA, Brazil

    Camila Verônica Souza Freire

  6. Universidade Regional de Blumenau, Blumenau, SC, Brazil

    Sofia Schmitt Schlindwein

  7. School of Medicine, Kursk State Medical University, Kursk, Kurskaya Oblast, Russia

    Brenda Feres & Sofia Wagemaker

  8. School of Medicine, União Educacional Do Vale Do Aço, Ipatinga, MG, Brazil

    Lucas Sousa Salgado

  9. Department of Health Research Methods, Evidence, and Impact, McMaster University, Hamilton, Canada

    Roseanne Ferreira

  10. McGill University, Montreal, Canada

    Júlia Loyola Ferreira

  11. Harvey E. Beardmore Division of Pediatric Surgery, The Montreal Children’s Hospital, McGill University Health Center, Montreal, Canada

    Júlia Loyola Ferreira

Authors
  1. Letícia Nunes Campos
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  2. Abbie Naus
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  3. Ayla Gerk Rangel
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  4. Gabriela Rangel Brandão
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  5. Isabella Faria
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  6. Tayana Assomptia Jean Pierre
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  7. Camila Verônica Souza Freire
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  8. Sofia Schmitt Schlindwein
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  9. Brenda Feres
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  10. Sofia Wagemaker
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  11. Lucas Sousa Salgado
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  12. Roseanne Ferreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

  13. Júlia Loyola Ferreira
    View author publications

    You can also search for this author in PubMed Google Scholar

Contributions

LNC, AN, AGR, IF, and CVSF contributed to this study’s conceptualization. All authors have contributed to the methodology. LNC, AGR, GRB, IF, TAJP, SSS, BF, SW, and LSS collected the data. LNC and GRB managed software applications. LNC, AN, and RF formally analyzed the data. LNC and AN curated the data. AN and RF validated the reproducibility of findings. LNC, AGR, and TAJP contributed to data visualization. LNC, AGR, GRB, CVSF, SSS, and BF wrote the original manuscript draft. IF, TAJP, LSS, AN, RF, and JLF reviewed and edited the manuscript. L.N.C and A.N administered the project. RF and JLF supervised the study.

Corresponding author

Correspondence to Letícia Nunes Campos.

Ethics declarations

Conflict of interest

All the authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

Additional information

Publisher's Note

Springer Nature remains neutral with regard to jurisdictional claims in published maps and institutional affiliations.

Rights and permissions

Springer Nature or its licensor (e.g. a society or other partner) holds exclusive rights to this article under a publishing agreement with the author(s) or other rightsholder(s); author self-archiving of the accepted manuscript version of this article is solely governed by the terms of such publishing agreement and applicable law.

Reprints and permissions

About this article

Check for updates. Verify currency and authenticity via CrossMark

Cite this article

Campos, L.N., Naus, A., Rangel, A.G. et al. Women Representation on Editorial Boards in Latin America Journals: Promoting Gender Equity in Academic Surgery, Anesthesia, and Obstetrics. World J Surg 47, 845–853 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06872-8

Download citation

  • Accepted:

  • Published:

  • Issue Date:

  • DOI: https://doi.org/10.1007/s00268-022-06872-8

Search

Navigation