Gendered male and high-income country authors dominate publication at a One Health research organization

Cecilia A. Sánchez , Collin J. Schwantes, Shannon L. Ball, Siyeun Kim, Sarah Munro, Rebecca Leaman, Cadhla Firth

Authorship on academic publications carries substantial weight for researchers in science fields. One’s position in a list of authors is typically used to signal information about author contributions and status, with the first and last authorship positions regarded as the most prestigious and important for career advancement. Therefore, any inequities that exist in the allocation of publication authorship (e.g. due to gender or geography) could affect researchers' career progression. We assessed patterns in publication authorship at EcoHealth Alliance, a non-profit organization that conducts One Health and conservation research. We compiled a corpus of 451 peer-reviewed journal articles published from 2011-2022, each of which had at least one EcoHealth Alliance-affiliated author, and gathered information on the gender and country affiliation of first and last authorships (FLAs). We found that gendered male authors represented ~60% of authors, 65% of FLAs, and 91% of highly productive authors. Last authorships were particularly male-dominated, with ~2.7 times as many last authorships by gendered male authors as by gendered female authors. Gendered male authors were more structurally important to the author network on average and comprised 65% of highly “powerful” authors in the network. High-income countries were also overrepresented in the corpus, with ~72% of FLAs listing a high-income country affiliation. We conclude by offering recommendations for researchers, organizations, and funders and publishers to improve equity in authorship practices.