Gender biases exist at “each step” of the publication process in chemistry publishing. That is according to a 30-page report – Is Publishing in the Chemical Sciences Gender Biased? — released on 5 November by the Royal Society of Chemistry (RSC). The report, which examines the diversity of authors, referees and editors of RSC journals, finds that while these biases appear minor in isolation, their combined effect puts women at a significant disadvantage when publishing their research.

The RSC publishes more than 40 peer-reviewed journals, corresponding to around 35 000 articles each year that while focussed on chemistry also cover fields such as biology, materials and physics. The study looked at the gender of authors in over 717 000 manuscript submissions between 2014 and 2018 as well as over 141 000 citations between RSC journals from 2011 to 2018. The gender of authors was assigned to names using the same method by the UK Intellectual Property Office in their report on gender in UK patenting.

Call to action

The analysis found that women are less likely than men to submit their work to journals that have a high impact factor and are more likely to have an article rejected without review. The report notes that women are also less likely to hold positions towards the end of the author list, in particular that of corresponding author. Indeed, while around 36% of RSC authors are female, only 24% of submissions have a women as corresponding author.

While these issues don’t just apply to the chemical sciences, as an organisation there is absolutely no point telling others they need to change unless you’re willing to do so yourself

Emma Wilson

When it comes to peer review, the report finds that women are under-represented as reviewers but are more likely to be chosen to review articles that have female corresponding authors. The report also states that women cite fewer research papers than men overall, and men are less likely than women to cite papers authored by women. Indeed, only 18% of cited papers have a corresponding author who is a woman.

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Publishers look to improve diversity in peer review

To tackle such biases, the report offers four areas for action. This includes publishing an annual analysis of authors, reviewers and editorial decision makers in each subdiscipline as well as recruiting reviewers, journal board members and associate editors to match the current gender balance in chemistry — with a target of 36% being women by 2022. The report also calls for more editorial training to eliminate biases and for the RSC to collaborate with other publishers to boost diversity and inclusion in the industry.

“We were surprised by some of the findings, which included a number of cases where women said they felt less confident submitting to a journal because they feel they might not meet the criteria for publication, while men may be more likely to take the risk,” says RSC publishing director Emma Wilson. “While these issues don’t just apply to the chemical sciences, as an organisation there is absolutely no point telling others they need to change unless you’re willing to do so yourself. In analyzing our journal peer review processes, committing to increase female representation within the publication process and annually reporting on our progress toward gender equality, we are aiming to raise the bar.”