From presentation to paper: Gender disparities in oncological research.
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ICR Authors
Authors
Dijksterhuis, WPM
Stroes, CI
Tan, W-L
Ithimakin, S
Calles, A
van Oijen, MGH
Verhoeven, RHA
Barriuso, J
Oosting, SF
Ivankovic, DK
Furness, AJS
Bozovic-Spasojevic, I
Gomez-Roca, C
van Laarhoven, HWM
Stroes, CI
Tan, W-L
Ithimakin, S
Calles, A
van Oijen, MGH
Verhoeven, RHA
Barriuso, J
Oosting, SF
Ivankovic, DK
Furness, AJS
Bozovic-Spasojevic, I
Gomez-Roca, C
van Laarhoven, HWM
Document Type
Journal Article
Date
2020-06-01
Date Accepted
2019-08-07
Abstract
Gender disparities in scientific publications have been identified in oncological research. Oral research presentations at major conferences enhance visibility of presenters. The share of women presenting at such podia is unknown. We aim to identify gender-based differences in contributions to presentations at two major oncological conferences. Abstracts presented at plenary sessions of the American Society of Clinical Oncology (ASCO) Annual Meetings and European Society for Medical Oncology (ESMO) Congresses were collected. Trend analyses were used to analyze female contribution over time. The association between presenter's sex, study outcome (positive/negative) and journals' impact factors (IFs) of subsequently published papers was assessed using Chi-square and Mann-Whitney U tests. Of 166 consecutive abstracts presented at ASCO in 2011-2018 (n = 34) and ESMO in 2008-2018 (n = 132), 21% had female presenters, all originating from Northern America (n = 17) or Europe (n = 18). The distribution of presenter's sex was similar over time (p = 0.70). Of 2,425 contributing authors to these presented abstracts, 28% were women. The proportion of female abstract authors increased over time (p < 0.05) and was higher in abstracts with female (34%) compared to male presenters (26%; p < 0.01). Presenter's sex was not associated with study outcome (p = 0.82). Median journals' IFs were lower in papers with a female first author (p < 0.05). In conclusion, there is a clear gender disparity in research presentations at two major oncological conferences, with 28% of authors and 21% of presenters of these studies being female. Lack of visibility of female presenters could impair acknowledgement for their research, opportunities in their academic career and even hamper heterogeneity in research.
Citation
International journal of cancer, 2020, 146 (11), pp. 3011 - 3021
Source Title
Publisher
WILEY
ISSN
0020-7136
eISSN
1097-0215