Authorship Distribution and Under-Representation of Sub-Saharan African Authors in Global Oncology Publications.

PURPOSE: Local researchers must be engaged in research conducted in their populations. However, local authors from low- and middle-income countries are often under-represented in global health journals. This report aims to assess and describe the representation of authors in the Journal of Clinical Oncology Global Oncology (JCO GO). METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study describes data from JCO GO articles published between October 2015 and March 2020. Data were collected on studied countries, authorship position, classified as first, middle, or last, and country of authors' institutional affiliations. Countries were then categorized on the basis of their World Bank region and income classifications. We describe aggregate authorship distribution and distribution by region and income classification. Additionally, we explore the relationships between author's country and studied country. RESULTS: Of the 608 articles identified, 420 (69.1%) studied a single country population. Although articles represented studies from all World Bank regions, the sub-Saharan Africa (SSA) region accounted for the highest number (n = 145; 34.5%). In all other regions except SSA, most of the first (66.7%-100%) and last authors (56.6%-95.2%) had primary institutional affiliations based in the same region as the studied country. However, among articles about SSA countries, SSA first authors (n = 65; 44.8%) and last authors (n = 59; 40.7%) were under-represented. In fact, there were more North American first (n = 74; 51.0%) and last authors (n = 72; 49.6%) than SSA authors. There was higher SSA representation among middle authors (n = 97; 68.8%) in studies from the region. A similar trend was also noted with the under-representation of authors from low-income compared with high-income countries. CONCLUSION: SSA authors are under-represented in global oncology articles. Concerted strategies are needed to build local capacity, promote meaningful engagement, and foster equity.

Authorship Equity and Gender Representation in Global Oncology Publications.

PURPOSE: Authorship gender disparities persist across academic disciplines, including oncology. However, little is known about global variation in authorship gender distribution. METHODS: This retrospective cross-sectional study describes the distribution of author gender as determined from the first name across variables such as authorship position (first, middle, and last), country region, and country income level. The 608 articles with 5,302 authors included in this analysis were published in the Journal of Clinical Oncology Global Oncology, from its inception in October 2015 through March 2020. Primary outcome measure was author gender on the basis of first name probabilities assessed by genderize.io. World Bank classification was used to categorize the country region and income level. Odds ratios were used to describe associations between female last authorship and representation in other authorship positions. RESULTS: Although female authors were in the minority across all authorship positions, they were more under-represented in the last author position with 190 (32.1%) female, compared with 252 (41.4%) female first authors and 1,564 (38.1%) female middle authors. Female authors were most under-represented among authors from low-income countries, where they made up 21.6% of first authors and 9.1% of last authors. Of all the regions, sub-Saharan Africa and South Asia had the lowest percentage of female authors. Compared with articles with male last authors, those with female last authors had odds ratios (95% CI) of 2.2 (1.6 to 3.2) of having female first authors and 1.4 (0.9 to 2.1) of having 50% or more female middle authors. CONCLUSION: There are wide regional variations in author gender distribution in global oncology. Female authors remain markedly under-represented, especially in lower-income countries, sub-Saharan Africa, and South Asia. Future interventions should be tailored to mitigate these disparities.