In her introduction, Kumsal Bayazit, the first female CEO in the 144-year history of this publishing giant, acknowledges the slow pace of progress towards gender equality, stating, "At the current pace of change, equality remains too far away and further action is needed to accelerate change." She hopes the insights from their latest report and the data from the accompanying ‘Gender Diversity Dashboard’ will stimulate dialogue, sharing of best practices, and targeted interventions to support women researchers and innovators.
A Closer Look at Gender Diversity in Research
The newly released survey from one of the world’s largest academic publishers focuses on a critical issue: who writes the research they publish? Bayazit draws inspiration from Marie Curie, emphasizing a dual approach: recognizing achievements and identifying areas needing improvement. This balanced perspective helps maintain a rational approach to addressing gender inequities in research, avoiding the emotional pitfalls often associated with these issues.
The company highlights its unique contribution with a 20-year study across diverse disciplines and geographies. The report avoids sugarcoating the challenges, noting that while women's representation in fields like mathematics, engineering, and computer science is increasing, parity with men is not projected until 2052. Similarly, although grant funding for women has risen from 29% in 2009 to 37% in 2022, women's involvement in innovation, as indicated by patent applications, remains low despite strong performances in solving global challenges identified by the UN’s Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
Key Findings from the Elsevier Gender Report
Increasing Participation
- Global Increase: Women’s share of active researchers has grown from 28% in 2001 to 41% in 2022, with strong representation in health sciences.
- Field Variations: Gender diversity varies significantly by field, with women making up only 33% of researchers in physical sciences.
Regional Differences
- High Representation: Women comprise over 50% of active researchers in Portugal and Argentina.
- Moderate Representation: Nearly 50% in Brazil, Spain, and Italy; around 40% in the US and UK.
- Low Representation: 33% in India, 30% in Egypt, and only 22% in Japan.
Funding and Innovation
- Grant Funding: The share of women among grant awardees increased globally from 29% in 2009 to 37% in 2022.
- Patent Applications: As of 2022, three-quarters of patent applications are filed by men or all-male teams, with only 3% filed by all-women teams.
Impact on Sustainable Development Goals
Women are the majority in research areas related to several UN SDGs, such as:
- Education (SDG 4)
- Gender equality (SDG 5)
- Reduction of inequalities (SDG 10)
- Peace and justice (SDG 16)
Recommendations for Improvement
The report concludes with five key recommendations:
1. Accelerate Commitments: Enhance efforts toward greater gender equality in research.
2. Retention: Prioritize retaining early-career women researchers in mid- and advanced-career stages.
3. Incentive Structures: Develop systems to help women participate equally in the entire research and innovation value chain, including patents.
4. Measure Effectiveness: Use a broad range of indicators to measure research effectiveness, including societal and policy impact.
5. Collect and Report Data: Continue gathering and reporting inclusion and diversity data to monitor progress, identify gaps, evaluate policies, and ensure accountability.
Conclusion: A Path Forward
Kumsal Bayazit concludes, “There is progress but it is slow. At the current pace of change, equality remains too far away and further action is needed to accelerate change.” The 'Gender Diversity Dashboard' offers a visual representation of these findings, highlighting areas of progress and those requiring further effort.
Quantifying and visualizing progress is crucial for encouraging and enabling further advancements in gender equality in research publication, support, visibility, and impact. As this report shows, while significant strides have been made, much work remains to be done to achieve true gender parity in the academic publishing world.
More: https://publishingperspectives.com/2024/06/elsevier-gender-diversity-in-world-research-publishing/
