Promoting gender diversity in the editorial boards of major otorhinolaryngology journals: A call for inclusion and equal representation

OBJECTIVES: The aim of our study was to investigate the representation of women in the editorial boards of otorhinolaryngology journals indexed in the Science Citation Index‐Expanded (SCIE) database. METHODS: We examined the gender distribution of editors‐in‐chief, editorial board members, and associate/section editors in otorhinolaryngology journals indexed in the Web of Science SCI‐E core collection. We also analyzed the number of years the journals have been publishing, their categories (general otorhinolaryngology, otology‐audiology, phoniatrics, rhinology‐allergy), the country and continent of publication, the Journal Citation Indicator (JCI) 2021 values, 2‐year and 5‐year impact factors (IF), H‐index, and quartile rank of the journals. RESULTS: Out of the 54 editors‐in‐chief included in our study from a total of 44 journals, only 6 (11.1%) were women. Women constituted 21.6% of the editorial board members and 35.1% of the associate/section editors. The proportion of women in the editorial boards of journals with a 5‐year impact factor >3.0 was significantly higher compared to others. As the 5‐year impact factor of the journals increased, the number of women in the boards showed a linear increase. When evaluated based on journal categories, phoniatrics journals had higher representation of women in both editorial board membership and associate/section editor roles compared to other categories. CONCLUSION: The representation of women in the editorial boards of otorhinolaryngology journals is still inadequate. To rectify this situation, it is important for the entire academic community to exhibit a collective attitude rather than individual efforts. LEVEL OF EVIDENCE: 2.