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Trends of female authorship in speech-language pathology publications over the last decade
Journal article   Open access   Peer reviewed

Trends of female authorship in speech-language pathology publications over the last decade

Sandhya Ganesan, Tatiana Ferraro, Sana Smaoui, Leena Zitoun, Lara Pramanik and Erin Anne Cardman
BMJ open, v 15(7), e098811
05 Jul 2025
DOI: https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098811
PMID: 40617618
url
https://doi.org/10.1136/bmjopen-2025-098811View
Published, Version of Record (VoR) Open

Abstract

Education, Medical Rehabilitation medicine Research Design Speech Pathology
ObjectivesThe purpose of this study was to analyse the speech-language pathology (SLP) literature from 2012 to 2022 and evaluate authorship trends and factors associated with gender disparities.Design and outcome measuresAuthorship across journals published by the American Speech-Language-Hearing Association (ASHA) was evaluated. Outcomes collected from each article included the gender of the first and senior authors, author department affiliations, study type, reported funding source and the country of origin. Three sets of linear regression models were explored to determine the probability of male first authorship, of male senior authorship, and of a study being funded.ResultsA total of 2754 articles were identified for inclusion. The majority of the literature was authored by females, with 77% of first authors and 68% of senior authors being female. Studies with a male senior author were shown to be 4.05–4.67 times more likely to have a male first author than with a female senior author. Male senior authors were over-represented relative to their proportion of ASHA membership compared with female senior authors. Male authorship was associated with certain subtopics, including voice, stuttering and motor speech. Funding probability decreased for all authors regardless of gender between 2012 and 2022.ConclusionsImplicit gender bias and societal gender stereotypes lead to a greater number of women in the field of SLP; the same biases and stereotypes often limit the research productivity and academic leadership potential of women in the field. Addressing these biases and stereotypes is vital to move towards gender equity in the field.

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Collaboration types
Domestic collaboration
International collaboration
Web of Science research areas
Medicine, General & Internal
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