Methods:
See our January 2018 Journal Watch post for details on methods.
Base rates:
First authors are more likely to be graduate students or postdoctoral fellows. Using our calculations based on registration for the 2017 Annual Meeting of the Society for Neuroscience, 49% of graduate students and postdocs in neuroscience are women.
For last or sole authors we take the base rate to be 32%, the percentage of women faculty at the same meeting. We take the base rate for all authors to be the overall percentage of 43%.
Data:
Journal of Neuroscience
Volume 38, 23 through 26
Excluding: This Week in The Journal, Editorial, Correction
First author gender ratio: 21 women : 33 men (39%)
Last/sole author gender ratio: 12 women : 46 men (21%)
Middle author gender ratio: 100 women : 145 men (41%)
All author gender ratio: 133 women : 224 men (38%)
Excluded: 1 last author, 4 first authors and 24 middle authors. 29 in total.
Neuron
Volume 98, Issue 5 and Issue 6
Excluding: Corrections
First author gender ratio: 13 women : 23 men (36%)
Last/sole author gender ratio: 14 women : 27 men (34%)
Middle author gender ratio: 51 women : 87 men (37%)
All author gender ratio: 78 women : 137 men (36%)
Excluded: 0 last author, 0 first author and 7 middle authors. 7 in total.
Nature Neuroscience
Volume 21, Issue 6
Excluding: Corrections
First author gender ratio: 6 women : 7 men (46%)
Last/sole author gender ratio: 4 women : 12 men (25%)
Middle author gender ratio: 39 women : 64 men (38%)
All author gender ratio: 49 women : 83 men (37%)
Excluded: 1 last authors, 1 first authors and 10 middle author. 12 in total.
eNeuro
Excluding: Erratum, Correction, Editorial
First author gender ratio: 15 women : 17 men (47%)
Last/sole author gender ratio: 10 women : 25 men (29%)
Middle author gender ratio: 45 women : 66 men (41%)
All author gender ratio: 70 women : 108 men (39%)
Excluded: 1 last authors, 0 first authors and 6 middle authors. 7 in total.
biaswatchneuro 