Scientific Papers By Women Take Longer to Publish

When a woman is listed as the first author on a scientific paper, it takes longer for that paper to move through peer review and reach publication than when a man is listed as the first author, according to a new analysis of millions of biomedical research articles.

The study, conducted by researchers at the University of Nevada, Reno, found that when women were listed as first author, corresponding author, or both, the median time between submission and publication was 7.4% to 14.6% longer than for papers led by men. For the study, the researchers examined publication records indexed in PubMed, a web-based search tool maintained by the  National Institutes of Health (NIH)'s National Library of Medicine. 

“These delays can compound over time to affect career trajectories,” Cassidy Sugimoto, an information scientist at the Georgia Institute of Technology who was not involved in the study, told “The Scientist” in an interview about the findings. “When production slows [...] visibility slows with it,” she added.

In academia, publication output is a key measure of success. Hiring, funding, and promotion decisions often depend on how frequently a researcher publishes and how often their work is cited. Before publication, manuscripts typically undergo peer review, a process in which editors and external experts evaluate the work and authors revise it in response to feedback before a journal decides whether to accept it.

The authors of the new analysis argue that longer review timelines for women likely reflect broader structural inequalities in academic science. Women remain underrepresented in many fields and are more likely than men to leave academia, whether voluntarily or involuntarily. They also tend to shoulder disproportionate caregiving and household responsibilities, which can limit the time available for research and revision. 

Studies have also shown that women academics often carry heavier teaching and service loads than their male colleagues, reducing time for research and manuscript preparation. Women are less likely to receive research funding, less likely to be invited to present at conferences, and less likely to be included as co-authors. Their work is cited less frequently on average, and experimental evidence suggests that evaluators rate identical work less favorably when they believe it was written by a woman.

Taken together, the researchers suggest, these systemic factors may contribute to these slower editorial and review processes—delays that over time can have a significant impact over the course of a career.