Publishing can sometimes be seen as acting as the fuel behind the academic world. Yet, across social sciences, woman are not publishing their share of research papers. Karen Schucan-Bird fears that if they are not publishing at a level comparable to their male counterparts, women are left standing at a career disadvantage

Schucan-Bird, Karen

English

LSE Research Online

by Blog Admin August 7, 2012Publishing can sometimes be seen as acting as the fuel behind the academic world. Yet,across social sciences, woman are not publishing their share of research papers. KarenSchucan-Bird (http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactofsocialsciences/blog-contributors/#Karen_Schucan-Bird) fears that if they are not publishing at a levelcomparable to their male counterparts, woman are left standing at a career disadvantage.We all know how important it is to publish our research. Recognition and reward is grantedto the productive scholar and their university. But, is there equal opportunity f or all to succeed in thispursuit? With growing evidence f rom the material and lif e sciences that women publish less than men, itmay be that myself  and other f emale social scientists are publishing less than we would expect. I sought toinvestigate.To do so, I compared two sets of  data: 1) demographic(http://109.108.130.200.srvlist.ukf ast.net/_images/Demographic_Review_tcm8-13533.pdf ) data(http://109.108.130.200.srvlist.ukf ast.net/_images/Demographic_Review_tcm8-13533.pdf ) of(http://109.108.130.200.srvlist.ukf ast.net/_images/Demographic_Review_tcm8-13533.pdf ) UK(http://109.108.130.200.srvlist.ukf ast.net/_images/Demographic_Review_tcm8-13533.pdf ) academics(http://109.108.130.200.srvlist.ukf ast.net/_images/Demographic_Review_tcm8-13533.pdf ) to identif y theproportion of  social scientists that were women (in 2003/4, this was 40 per cent), 2) a random sample of202 journal articles published at a similar t ime, so that I could identif y the proportion of  articles authored byUK-based women. The logic that drove my analysis was simple: if  40 per cent of  social scientists werewomen, then we could expect that 40 per cent of  publications would be written by women.I analysed the social sciences as a whole as well as f ocusing on particular disciplines: polit ical science,economics, social policy and psychology. These disciplines were analysed because, tradit ionally, they aregendered subject areas. Economics, f or example, has tended to represent a ‘harder ’, masculine area ofsocial science, and with high proportions of  male academics and students. In contrast, social policy istradit ionally considered a f eminine f ield, and with high levels of  f emale scholars and students.My findingsAcross the social sciences as a whole, women did not publish as many articles as we might expect. Whilstrepresenting 40 per cent of  the social science community, women only contributed 32 per cent of  thesampled articles (f igures are set out in the table below). A similar discrepancy was f ound in the more‘masculine’ disciplines. Whilst women made up 24 per cent of  polit ical scientists in the UK, they onlycontributed 8 per cent of  the articles sampled. In economics women constituted 22 per cent of  academicswhilst writ ing 13 per cent of  the sampled articles. This latter f inding, however, was not statisticallysignif icant (whilst the other reported f indings were).There were more optimistic f indings elsewhere. In the ‘f eminine’ disciplines of  social science, women werepublishing at levels that we might expect. In psychology, women constituted a higher proportion of  thediscipline (43 per cent) and wrote a comparable proportion of  the sampled articles (43 per cent). Similarly,women made up 46 per cent of  social policy academics in the UK and contributed 53 per cent of  the articlessampled. In these disciplines it seems that women were able to publish at a level comparable to their malepeers.    The proportion of  women in social science compared with the proportion of  articles written by women:So, it seems, there were dif f erences in men and women’s publication productivity. How can we explain thesefindings and what do they tell us about the academy? I outline three explanations below, all of  which probablyhave some merit:Women’s research is not suf f iciently recognised or valued by our universit ies or the academy.Understandings of  ‘knowledge’ and ‘scientif ic quality’ privilege tradit ional, more ‘masculine’approaches to research that are more commonly undertaken by men. This may explain why men(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) were(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) almost(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) 40%(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA)more(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) likely(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) than(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) their(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) f emale(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) colleagues(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) to(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) be(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) entered(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) in(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) the(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) last(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) quality(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) assurance(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) procedure(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) ((http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA)the(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) Research(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) Assessment(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) Exercise(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA), 2008).(http://www.google.com/url?q=http%3A%2F%2Fwww.hef ce.ac.uk%2Fmedia%2Fhef ce1%2Fpubs%2Fhef ce%2F2009%2F0934%2F09_34.pdf &sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNEqHf OayDaIaA5gf i8b0RBWp-gXpA) Particular disciplinessuch as social policy and psychology may provide a space in which alternative research approachesare accepted, valued and published.Female academics may take on a greater proportion of  the teaching and administrative roles withinthe academy. Thus, they have less time to dedicate to research and its publication than their malecolleagues.Women are actively seeking new opportunit ies to undertake research and dissemination activit iesthat do not involve publishing in the standard ways. Perhaps journals and other conventional outletsf or research are being replaced by new media (such as blogs) and alternative platf orms.Whilst we may be able to explain my f indings, I can’t help but f eel troubled by them. Publishing is absolutelycentral to the academic world. If  women are not publishing at a level comparable with their male peers, f orwhatever reason, then surely they are at a career disadvantage? Don’t we need to rectif y this situation? Asthe 2014 (http://www.ref .ac.uk/)Research (http://www.ref .ac.uk/) Excellence (http://www.ref .ac.uk/) Framework(http://www.ref .ac.uk/) looms over us, I urge us all to consider whether our male and f emale colleagues f aredif f erently.For more details see, “Do women publish fewer journal articles than men? Sex differences in publicationproductivity in the social sciences (http://www.tandfonline.com/doi/abs/10.1080/01425692.2011.596387)”Schucan Bird, K. Nov-2011 In : British Journal of Sociology of Education. 32, 6, p. 921-937.Note: This article gives the views of the author(s), and not the position of the Impact of Social Sciences blog,nor of the London School of Economics.Related posts:1. How to move towards a system that looks to ‘publish, then f ilter ’ academic research(http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactof socialsciences/2012/07/10/publish-then-f ilter-research/)2. Why ‘Publish or Perish’ has the edge over Google Scholar and Scopus when it comes to f inding outhow your work is used by other academics(http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactof socialsciences/2011/05/26/why-publish-or-perish-has-the-edge-over-google-scholar/)3. Five minutes with Mary Evans: “Gender equality is of ten overlooked, and with it women’s part in publicdebates.” (http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactof socialsciences/2011/12/16/f ive-minutes-with-mary-evans/)4. Tit les are the hardest thing: How can we make them more ef f ective?(http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactof socialsciences/2012/05/24/tit les-are-hardest-more-ef f ective/)5. Only with innovative publishing practices and an open approach f rom business can greatercollaboration with academics occur. (http://blogs.lse.ac.uk/impactof socialsciences/2012/03/06/only-with- innovative-publishing-practices-and-an-open-approach-f rom-business-can-greater-collaboration-with-academics-occur/)

Women academics publish less than men. Or do they…?

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