title: Gender trends in authorship in oral and maxillofacial surgery literature: A 30-year analysis.
abstract: The aim of the present study was to perform a bibliometric analysis of the gender distribution of first and senior authorships in important oral and maxillofacial journals over the 30-year period from 1980 to 2010. Articles published in three representative oral and maxillofacial surgery journals were selected. The years 1980, 1990, 2000, and 2010 were chosen as representative points in time for article selection. Original research, case reports, technical notes, and reviews were included in the analysis. Case reports and technical notes were pooled in one group. For each article, the gender of the first author as well as that of the senior author was determined, based on the inspection of their first name. The type of article was determined and the country of origin of the article was documented. A total 1412 articles were subjected to the data analysis. A significant increase in female authorship in oral and maxillofacial surgery could be identified over the chosen 30-year period. However, the number of publications by male authors was still significantly higher at all points of time, exceeding those of female authors by at least 3.8 fold in 2010. As there is a trend towards feminization of medicine and dentistry, the results of the present study may serve as the basis for further analysis of the current situation, and the identification of necessary actions to accelerate the closure of the gender gap in publishing in oral and maxillofacial surgery.
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria. Electronic address: emeka@nkenke.de.
authors.forename: Emeka
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Nkenke
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Medical University of Vienna, Vienna, Austria.
authors.forename: Rudolf
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Seemann
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, University of Athens Medical School, Attikon Hospital, Athens, Greece.
authors.forename: Elefterios
authors.initials: E
authors.lastname: Vairaktaris
authors.affiliation: Department of Operative Dentistry and Periodontology, Halle University Hospital, Halle (Saale), Germany.
authors.forename: Hans-Günter
authors.initials: HG
authors.lastname: Schaller
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Maximilian
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Rohde
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Florian
authors.initials: F
authors.lastname: Stelzle
authors.affiliation: Department of Oral and Maxillofacial Surgery, Erlangen University Hospital, Erlangen, Germany.
authors.forename: Christian
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Knipfer
mesh_terms: D000349:Africa; D000569:Americas; D001208:Asia; D001319:Authorship; D015706:Bibliometrics; D003792:Dental Records / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D018865:Dental Research / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D005060:Europe; D005260:Female; D006801:Humans; D008297:Male; D010506:Periodicals as Topic / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D011643:Publishing / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D012196:Review Literature as Topic; D012737:Sex Factors; D063507:Sexism / Q000706:statistics & numerical data; D013515:Surgery, Oral / Q000706:statistics & numerical data*; D013674:Technology, Dental / Q000706:statistics & numerical data
keywords: Authorship; Bibliometrics; Gender; Oral and maxillofacial surgery; Publishing