Gender Disparities in Laryngology Authorship: A Bibliometric Analysis Before and After the COVID-19 Pandemic

Introduction: Gender disparities in academic advancement persists. The objective of this study is to evaluate gender representation among different authorship roles in laryngology publications and to assess associations between authorship gender, publication year, and journal rank, including changes following the COVID-19 pandemic.

Methods: A bibliometric analysis was conducted using Elsevier Scopus database to identify Laryngology papers published between 2020 and 2025. 510 papers met criteria. Gender of first, senior, and corresponding authors were collected using Gender API and were cross referenced with academic profiles. Publications from 2022 onward were categorized as post-COVID-19 to reflect the period when research activity began to normalize. Chi square goodness of fit was used to compare gender distributions for authorship roles. Chi square tests of independence were performed to assess relationships between author gender, year of publication, and journal rank. Multivariable logistic regression analyses were conducted to evaluate the association between authorship gender and publication year and journal rank.

Results: Fewer female authors published in 2020-2025 compared to males for each authorship role (all: p < 0.001). Fewer female first authors and corresponding authors published in high ranking Otolaryngology journals (p=0.01, p=0.01). More male senior authors published in 2022 and beyond compared to female senior authors (p=0.02). However, after controlling for journal rank, senior authors publishing in 2022 and beyond were more likely to be female (p < 0.001). First and corresponding authors publishing in high ranking Otolaryngology journals were less likely to be female (p=0.01, p=0.01, respectively).

Conclusions: Gender disparities persist across all authorship roles in laryngology, especially within high-ranking otolaryngology journals. Although female senior authorship increased in the post-COVID-19 era, female authors remain underrepresented in high impact journals. For this reason, more efforts are needed to promote gender equity in academic laryngology.