RESEARCH ARTICLE

RESEARCH ARTICLE

Gender gap among highly cited researchers,
2014–2021

Lokman I. Meho1,2

1Georgetown University in Qatar, Ar-Rayyan, Qatar
2American University of Beirut, Beirut, Libanon

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Tagebuch

Schlüsselwörter: bibliometrics, gender disparities, gender gap, highly cited researchers

Zitat: Meho, L. ICH. (2022). Gender gap
among highly cited researchers,
2014–2021. Quantitative Science
Studien, 3(4), 1003–1023. https://doi.org
/10.1162/qss_a_00218

DOI:
https://doi.org/10.1162/qss_a_00218

Peer Review:
https://publons.com/publon/10.1162
/qss_a_00218

Erhalten: 26 April 2022
Akzeptiert: 22 September 2022

Korrespondierender Autor:
Lokman I. Meho
LM1470@georgetown.edu

Handling-Editor:
Ludo Waltman

ABSTRAKT
This study examines the extent to which women are represented among the world’s highly cited
researchers (HCRs) and explores their representation over time and across fields, Regionen, Und
Länder. The study identifies 11,842 HCRs in all fields and uses Gender-API, Genderize.Io,
Namsor, and the web to identify their gender. Women’s share of HCRs grew from 13.1% In
2014 Zu 14.0% In 2021; Jedoch, the increase is slower than that of women’s representation
among the general population of authors. The data show that women’s share of HCRs would
need to increase by 100% in health and social sciences, 200% in agriculture, biology, earth,
and environmental sciences, 300% in mathematics and physics, Und 500% in chemistry,
computer science, and engineering to close the gap with men. Women’s representation among
all HCRs in North America, Europa, and Oceania ranges from 15% Zu 18%, compared to a
world average of 13.7%. Among countries with the highest number of HCRs, the gender gap is
least evident in Switzerland, Brasilien, Norwegen, das Vereinigte Königreich, and the United States and
most noticeable in Asian countries. The study reviews factors that can be seen to influence the
gender gap among HCRs and makes recommendations for improvement.

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1.

EINFÜHRUNG

Research on the gender gap in science continues to receive substantial attention as barriers to
the progress of women in science, Technologie, engineering, and mathematics (STEM) fields
remain widespread (Bendels, Müller et al., 2018; Ceci, Ginther et al., 2014; Charlesworth &
Banaji, 2019; Holman, Stuart-Fox, & Hauser, 2018; Huang, Gates et al., 2020; Larivière, Ni
et al., 2013; Leslie, Cimpian et al., 2015; Maliniak, Powers, & Walter, 2013; Sheltzer & Schmied,
2014; Westen, Jacquet et al., 2013). According to Aguinis, Ji, and Joo (2018), many factors have
been shown to contribute to the underrepresentation of women in STEM and other fields, Aber
nothing plays a stronger role than gender discrimination, which creates imbalances in the
opportunities presented to and barriers encountered by women compared with men. Diese
include bias in peer review (Helmer, Schottdorf et al., 2017; Murray, Siler et al., 2018), dis-
proportionate resource allocation for men (Duch, Zeng et al., 2012), reviewers and colleagues’
undervaluing the quality of women’s research (Knobloch-Westerwick, Glynn, & Huge, 2013;
Merton, 1968; Rossiter, 1993), Stereotypen (Wang & Degol, 2017), favoritism (Abramo,
D’Angelo, & Soldatenkova, 2017), sexual harassment (Nationale Akademien der Wissenschaften,
Maschinenbau, und Medizin, 2018), poor mentorship (Aguinis et al., 2018), and lack of role
Modelle (Glocke, Chetty et al., 2019; Botella, Rueda et al., 2019; Lockwood, 2006), unter anderen.

Urheberrechte ©: © 2022 Lokman I. Meho.
Veröffentlicht unter Creative Commons
Namensnennung 4.0 International (CC BY 4.0)
Lizenz.

Die MIT-Presse

Gender gap among highly cited researchers, 2014–2021

Gender discrimination and other concepts and phenomena, such as leaky pipelines
(Blickenstaff, 2005; Carr, Gunn et al., 2015; Griffith, 2010; Shaw & Stanton, 2012), demo-
graphic inertia (Hargens & Long, 2002; Marschke, Laursen et al., 2007; Meho, 2021; Shaw
& Stanton, 2012; Thomas, Poole, & Herbers, 2015), the Matthew Effect (Bol, de Vaan, &
van de Rijt, 2018; Botella et al., 2019; Dion, Sumner, & Mitchell, 2018; Merton, 1968; Rossiter,
1993), and the Matilda Effect (Dion, Sumner, & Mitchell, 2018; Knobloch-Westerwick, et al.,
2013; Lincoln, Pincus et al., 2012; Rossiter, 1993), are often correlated and mutually reinforc-
ing, contributing to women publishing less (Bendels et al., 2018; Larivière et al., 2013), Sein
undercited (Knobloch-Westerwick et al., 2013), underfunded (Bol et al., 2018; Ceci et al.,
2014; Witteman, Hendricks et al., 2019), underpaid (Freund, Raj et al., 2016),
underpromoted (Weisshaar, 2017), underrecognized (Lincoln et al., 2012; Ma, Oliveira
et al., 2019; Meho, 2021), having shorter research careers (Sonst, 2017, 2020; Huang
et al., 2020), and having few progressing to senior and leadership positions compared to
men (Ceci et al., 2014; Huang et al., 2020).

A main indicator of the gender gap in science is women’s representation among elite
scientists—researchers who made their mark in science largely through their publications
and citation performance (Chan & Torgler, 2020; Kwiek, 2016; , Cowley et al., 2020). Pub-
lications represent the primary means of disseminating knowledge and the principal measure
of research productivity, which influences career prospects and visibility (Holman et al., 2018;
Ioannidis, 2014). Citations also play a central role in assessing researchers’ influence and
attaining recognition from the scientific community (Carpenter, Cone, & Sarli, 2014;
et al., 2020). Elite scientists are generally highly cited researchers (HCRs), and being relatively
highly cited, especially in fields where citations serve as symbolic capital, is a compelling sign
of research impact. It can put scientists on the radar of their peers, funding agencies, Und
research award committees, help them advance further in their careers, and encourage them
to produce more pioneering work (Chan & Torgler, 2020; Chatterjee & Werner, 2021; Ha,
Lehrer et al., 2021; Kwiek, 2016; Sá et al., 2020). Institutions benefit, zu, as having HCRs
bestows prestige and impact in national and international rankings and helps attract more
funding and high-quality students and faculty (Hazelkorn, 2015; Rauhvargers, 2013). In diesem
Studie, we examine the extent to which women are represented among the world’s HCRs and
explore their representation over time and across fields, Regionen, and countries.

It is important to examine the gender gap among HCRs because productivity, Forschung
impact, and reputation in science are highly skewed (Chan & Torgler, 2020). daher, doc-
umenting women’s representation among HCRs can be informative for addressing the gender
gap in science (Aguinis et al., 2018). A key advantage of studying HCRs is that they are a
relatively homogeneous group of scholars in terms of capacity to produce successful and inno-
vative ideas (Chan & Torgler, 2020). Examining the gender gap among HCRs is also important
because these researchers greatly influence individuals around them and often serve as role
models and mentors who enrich their colleagues’ and students’ social and intellectual capital
(Malhotra & Singh, 2016). Daher, understanding the gender gap among HCRs and the factors
that influence this can be useful in planning interventions to help close the gap.

2. FACTORS THAT INFLUENCE THE GENDER GAP AMONG HCRS

We did not collect data to identify the root causes of the gender gap among HCRs; Jedoch,
we briefly review here eight relevant factors or phenomena: research productivity and impact,
publication venues, research collaboration, coaffiliation, leaky pipelines, demographic iner-
tia, the Matthew Effect, and the Matilda Effect. These and other factors (z.B., career length,

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Gender gap among highly cited researchers, 2014–2021

author affiliation, author location, national and international mobility, article language,
research quality, and research funding) have been comprehensively reviewed by Tahamtan,
Afshar, and Ahamdzadeh (2016). These factors can considerably affect researchers’ propen-
sity to receive more citations (Beaudry & Larivière, 2016) and achieve stardom, einschließlich
HCR status.

2.1. Research Productivity and Impact

Research productivity and impact measured by publications and citations are key factors for
attaining HCR status. Female researchers, Jedoch, for various reasons, generally publish and
get cited less than men in most fields (Chan & Torgler, 2020; Holman et al., 2018; Larivière
et al., 2013; Nygaard, Aksnes, & Piro, 2022). In a study of 59,278 researchers in science,
Technologie, engineering, Mathematik, and other scientific fields, Aguinis et al. (2018) found
a considerable gender productivity gap among star performers in favor of men across fields.
They also found that the underrepresentation of women is more extreme as we consider more
elite ranges of performance (d.h., top 10%, 5%, Und 1% of performers), suggesting that women
may have to accumulate more scientific knowledge, resources, and social capital to achieve the
same level of increase in total outputs as their male counterparts. In another study of 943 elite
researchers and their peers in the United States, Kanada, and South Africa, Sá and colleagues
(2020) found that among the elites, men published 30% more articles and were cited 64%
more than women. Jedoch, the difference in publication activity between men and women
in the peer group was insignificant. Sá and colleagues also found that elite male scientists are
significantly more frequently cited than their female peers. Madison and Fahlman (2021)
examined the publication metrics of 1,345 full professors at the six largest universities in
Sweden between 2009 Und 2014. They found that men had significantly more publications
and citations in medicine and the social sciences. They concluded that women have to reach
higher levels of scholarly achievement than men to achieve similar career success.

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2.2. Publication Venues

Another factor that can influence the gender gap among HCRs is that women publish fewer
articles in top journals than men. In a study examining 293,557 research articles published in
54 Nature journals covering the categories of life sciences, multidisziplinär, earth and
environmental sciences, and chemistry, Bendels and colleagues (2018) found that 39% von
women contributed 30% of all authorships. In another study of the top 10 political science
journals, Teele and Thelen (2017) found that female authors are well below the proportion
of women in the field (z.B., 11% authors vs. 23% full professors). According to the Scopus
database, articles published in top quartile journals attract, on average, more than twice, vier
mal, Und 15 times as many citations as articles published in second, dritte, and fourth quartile
journals, respectively1. Given that top journals are much more frequently cited than others
(Holman et al., 2018), the gender gap in HCRs may shrink if women’s publishing in these
journals is facilitated through such initiatives as having journals and publishers switch from
single to double-blind review and increasing women’s representation among journal editors
and reviewers (Cho, Johnson et al., 2014; Gottlieb, Krzyzaniak et al., 2021; Lerback &
Hanson, 2017; Lincoln et al., 2012; Murray et al., 2018).

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1 https://www.scopus.com/ (abgerufen im Juli 4, 2022).

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Gender gap among highly cited researchers, 2014–2021

2.3. Collaboration with Large and International Teams

A third factor that can contribute to the gender gap among HCRs can be linked to women’s
lower participation rates in large and international collaborative teams and projects. Larivière,
Gingras et al. (2015) provide a historical analysis of the relationship between collaboration
and scientific impact using three indicators of collaboration (number of authors, number of
addresses, and number of countries) derived from 32,500,000 articles published between
1900 Und 2011. They found that an increase in the number of authors leads to an increase
in research impact and that the increase was not due to self-citations. A similar trend was also
observed for the number of addresses and countries represented in an article’s byline. Sie
concluded that larger and more diverse (in terms of institutional and country affiliations) teams
are necessary to realize a higher research impact. Abramo, D’Angelo, and Di Costa (2019)
studied differences in collaboration behavior between 11,145 male and female top scientists
covering the period 2006–2010. The main significant difference between the two groups was
international collaboration, where the propensity for collaboration is greater among male pro-
fessors. Similar results were found among Norwegian researchers (Aksnes, Piro, & Rørstad,
2019). Kwiek and Roszka (2021) examined the gender collaboration practices of all interna-
tionally visible Polish university professors (N = 25,463) based on their 158,743 journal article
publications between 2009 Und 2018. They found that most male scientists collaborate solely
with men; most female scientists, in contrast, do not collaborate with women at all. Across
all age groups studied, all-women collaboration is marginal, while all-men collaboration
is pervasive.

At the discipline level, Jadidi, Karimi et al. (2018) investigated gender-specific differences in
collaboration patterns of more than one million computer scientists worldwide from 1970 Zu
2017. Their results highlight that successful male and female scientists reveal the same collab-
oration patterns: They tend to collaborate with more colleagues than other scientists, seek
innovations as brokers, and establish longer-lasting and more repetitive collaborations. Wie-
immer, on average, women are less likely to adopt the collaboration patterns related to success
and more likely to embed into ego networks devoid of structural holes. Zhang, Zhang et al.
(2020) investigated the effect of the international collaboration of 3,118 chemists from 38 uni-
versities and the Chinese Academy of Sciences on male and female scientists’ academic
Leistung. The results indicated that, compared to male scientists, female scientists per-
formed better and significantly improved their academic performance through international
collaboration, mainly because it permits them to overcome the lack of social capital and better
integrate into the academic environment (Abramo, D’Angelo, & Murgia, 2013). Similar results
were found among chemistry professors in Pakistan (Badar, Hite, & Badir, 2013).

2.4. Dual Affiliations

A fourth factor that can affect the gender gap among HCRs is multiple affiliations. Women hold
fewer dual affiliations than men, denying them resources for participation in high-impact
Forschung (Safaei, Goodarzi et al., 2016). In a study of authors in biology, Chemie, and engi-
neering, Hottenrott and Lawson (2017) found that authors with multiple affiliations have
higher citation numbers and are more often found in high-impact publications or publish more
articles in the top 10% journals than other authors. Hottenrott and Lawson also found that
multiple affiliations are widespread and increasing in all fields and countries. In this study,
we found that 24% of the 1,855 female HCRs have affiliations with two or more institutions
Und 6% have institutional affiliations in more than one country compared to 30% Und 10%,
jeweils, among male HCRs. These differences would probably have been much greater if

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we were examining and comparing all female and male researchers and not only HCRs, als
star performers tend to have more access to such resources (Aguinis et al., 2018; Hottenrott &
Lawson, 2017).

2.5. Leaky Pipelines, Demographic Inertia, the Matthew Effect, and the Matilda Effect

These concepts or phenomena have been widely used to explain or identify causes of gender-
based differences in science. The leaky pipeline analogy is used to show the extent and impact
of women’s dropping out of STEM fields at various stages of their careers on the gender gap in
Wissenschaft (Blickenstaff, 2005; Carr et al., 2015; Griffith, 2010; Shaw & Stanton, 2012). Für
Beispiel, in den Vereinigten Staaten, women make up nearly 45% of all assistant professors, yet their
proportion drops significantly to 28% among full professors (Nationale Wissenschaftsstiftung,
2022). As described below, this can influence the number and proportion of female HCRs.
Demographic inertia is primarily used to explain the role of low numbers and proportions
of female authors in the past on their future competition for positions, Status, and recognition
(Hargens & Long, 2002; Marschke et al., 2007; Meho, 2021; Shaw & Stanton, 2012). It essen-
tially assumes that, given enough time, the gender gap in science (including HCR representa-
tion) will be minimized (Thomas et al., 2015). Relevant examples of the Matthew Effect are
where men as the predominant authors in a field receive more citations, stature, influence, Und
resources (Bol et al., 2018; Botella et al., 2019; Dion et al., 2018) and where women’s
publishing and citation networks are more isolated and have fewer ties than men’s networks
(Yu, Krehbiel et al., 2020)—these and other factors affect the propensity of women to accumu-
late scientific capital to achieve HCR status. As for the Matilda Effect, it is when women’s
research is viewed as less important than men’s research or when women’s ideas are attributed
to male scholars, even as a field becomes more diverse, resulting in the loss of science capital
by women (Dion et al., 2018; Lincoln et al., 2012).

3. METHODEN

Similar to Shamsi, Lund, and Mansourzadeh (2022), we use the lists of HCRs generated annu-
ally since 2014 by Clarivate to identify highly cited researchers in all 21 Essential Science
Indicators (ESI) subject categories (siehe unten)2. We also identify HCRs classified by ESI under
a category named cross-field—researchers who did not make it as HCRs in a specific subject
category but have multiple highly cited papers in several fields that together qualify them as
HCRs. The lists of HCRs include the names of the researchers and their subject category(ies),
primary affiliation, and secondary affiliation, wenn überhaupt. According to Clarivate, HCRs are
researchers who have demonstrated significant and broad influence through the publication
of multiple highly cited papers during the last 11 full calendar years (z.B., Die 2021 HCR
edition is based on papers published and cited between 2010 Und 2020). The source of the
papers is the Science Citation Index Expanded and the Social Sciences Citation Index. Highly
cited papers are those that rank in the top 1% of citations in their respective subject categories
and year of publication. The 2014–2020 editions of HCRs exclude papers with more than 30
institutional addresses, und das 2021 edition excludes papers with more than 30 authors.
Authors qualify as HCRs based on the number of highly cited papers they published in one
or more subject categories. The number of HCRs selected in each category is based on the
population of authors in each subject category. For more details on the HCRs methodology,
see Clarivate (2022).

2 https://clarivate.com/webofsciencegroup/solutions/essential-science-indicators/.

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Tisch 1.

Subject categories used in classifying HCRs

Science-Metrix classification
Agriculture and Biology

Chemistry

Computer Science

Earth & Environmental Sciences

Economic & Social Sciences

Maschinenbau

Health Sciences

Mathematik & Statistics

Physik & Astronomy

Total

ESI subject categories included

Agricultural Sciences; Plant & Animal Science

Chemistry

Computer Science

Umfeld & Ecology; Geosciences

Economics & Business; Social Sciences

Maschinenbau; Materials Science

Biology & Biochemistry; Clinical Medicine; Immunology;

Microbiology; Molecular Biology & Genetik;
Neurowissenschaften & Behavior; Pharmacology & Toxicology;
Psychiatrie & Psychologie

Mathematik

Physik; Space Science

All above + Cross-Field

Notiz: Agriculture and Biology is a merger of the two Science-Metrix categories “Agriculture, Fisheries & Forestry” and “Biology.” Engineering is a merger of the
two Science-Metrix categories “Engineering” and “Enabling & Strategic Technologies” (which includes the following subfields: Bioinformatics, Biotechnology,
Energy, Materials, Nanoscience & Nanotechnology, Optoelectronics & Photonics, and Strategic, Defence & Security Studies). We use Computer Science for
Science-Metrix’s “Information & Communication Technologies,” which includes the following subfields: artificial intelligence & image processing, Berechnung
theory & Mathematik, computer hardware & architecture, distributed computing, information systems, medical informatics, networking & telecommunications,
and software engineering.

Aus 2014 Zu 2021, the database includes 38,352 HCRs from 76 Länder, oder 1,855 weiblich
Und 9,987 male unique HCRs after manually correcting errors in author names (z.B., the same
author listed with and without middle initials) and accounting for researchers listed in more
als 1 year and subject category. Because of the relatively small number of female HCRs per
year per subject category, we collapsed ESI’s 21 subjects into nine broad fields using the
Science-Metrix (2018) classification as shown in Table 1: Agriculture and Biology, Chemistry,
Computer Science, Earth & Environmental Sciences, Economic & Social Sciences, Maschinenbau,
Health Sciences, Mathematik & Statistics, and Physics & Astronomy.

To identify the gender of HCRs, we first used the Gender-API, Genderize.Io, and Namsor
online gender detection tools. These tools rely on extensive, often openly available, name
Repositories (z.B., those of the US Census and US Social Security) and refine the results by
using additional information (z.B., names and country of origin) obtained from the web and
social media profiles. Santamaría and Mihaljević (2018) and Sebo (2021A) extensively review
these and other gender detection tools. In Genderize.Io, we used the technique recommended
by Sebo (2021B) to improve accuracy. Generally, these tools report the proportion and number
of times a name is associated with men or women, alongside the number of examples
checked. As in Thelwall (2020), we used evidence of gender if a name was 100% one gender
with at least 10 examples, increasing the evidence requirements as the percentage decreased,
eventually falling to 90% one gender needing 500 examples. Using this method, we identified
the gender of 9,577 (81%) HCRs. We searched the web to identify the gender of all remaining
2,263 HCRs, consulting Wikipedia pages and other sources (z.B., personal and institutional
web pages and CVs) that provide gender information (based on pronouns used in the text).

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When necessary, we relied on images. A limitation of this method and the study is that we
used only a binary gender classification (men-women) and did not consider other genders
or groups (Kozlowski, Murray et al., 2022).

We use primary affiliations of the HCRs when analyzing data by geographical region and
country. Approximately 10% of all HCRs have a secondary affiliation in another country. To
estimate the extent of the gender gap among HCRs, we follow a logical conclusion that the
proportion of female HCRs should be close to the proportion of female authors (Lincoln et al.,
2012). Aus diesem Grund, we identify the pool of eligible candidates for HCR recognition by using
the gender distribution of authors by field and country according to the comprehensive report
published by Science-Metrix (2018), which is based on data from the Scopus database.
Because HCR is annually based on papers published during the previous 11 Jahre, we used
the midpoint for every 11 years as the base for the proportion of female authors. Zum Beispiel,
für die 2014 edition of HCR, which is based on papers published between 2003 Und 2013, Wir
used the proportion of female authors in 2008 as reported by Science-Metrix; für die 2015
HCR edition, which is based on papers published between 2004 Und 2014, we used the pro-
portion of female authors in 2009; und so weiter. Note that authors qualify for HCR recognition
regardless of their position in the byline.

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4. ERGEBNISSE

4.1. Extent of Improvement

Aus 2014 Zu 2021, women accounted for 1,855 oder 15.7% of all 11,842 HCRs. This is similar
to the study by Chan and Torgler (2020), in which they examined the gender of more than
94,000 of the world’s top-cited scientists in 21 fields across 43 countries and found that
15% of these scientists are women. Annually, women’s share of HCRs improved from
13.1% In 2014 Zu 14.0% In 2021 (Figur 1). These annual figures are lower than the 15.7%
in total representation because there is a higher HCR turnover among women than men (sehen
Abschnitt 4.3). These findings on HCRs reveal a more pervasive indicator of the gender gap in
science compared with the gap in the proportion of female authors in general, where women
account for 33.9% of all authors globally (Science-Metrix, 2018). Zusamenfassend, considering their
proportion among authors, women’s share of HCRs would need to increase by over 142% (oder
aus 14.0% Zu 33.9%) to close the gap with men. The data also show that between 2014 Und
2021, the gender gap among HCRs has improved at a slower rate than women’s representation
among authors in general—7% (or from 13.1% Zu 14.0%) compared to 12% (oder 29.5% Zu
33.9%), jeweils (Figur 1).

4.2. Gender Gap by Field

Similar to previous studies on elite researchers (z.B., Bendels et al., 2018; Chan & Torgler,
2020; Holman et al., 2018; Larivière et al., 2013), our data show that the gender gap among
HCRs is greatest in chemistry, computer science, engineering, Mathematik, and physics and
astronomy where women account for 4–7% of all HCRs although they make up 25–35% of
the fields’ authors (Science-Metrix, 2018). This is followed by agriculture and biology as well
as earth and environmental sciences, where women account for 11–14% of all HCRs,
although they make up 31–36% of the fields’ authors. Women’s greatest representation is
in the economic, sozial, and health sciences, where they constitute 17–21% of all HCRs
(Figur 1). Considering their numbers among authors worldwide, women’s share of HCRs
would need to double in economic, Gesundheit, and social sciences; triple in agriculture, biology,

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Figur 1. Proportion of female HCRs vs. proportion of female authors, by field. We use the gender distribution of authors as reported by
Science-Metrix (2018). Because HCR is annually based on papers published during the previous 11 Jahre, we used the midpoint for each
11-year period as the base for the proportion of female authors. Zum Beispiel, für die 2014 edition of HCR which is based on papers published
zwischen 2003 Und 2013, we use the proportion of female authors in 2008; für die 2015 HCR edition, which is based on papers published
zwischen 2004 Und 2014, we use the proportion of female authors in 2009; und so weiter. The figures in parentheses refer to the average number of
HCRs per year from 2014 Zu 2021 (women/total). In the Total chart, we report the average number of HCRs per year from 2018 Zu 2021 (Und
not from 2014 Zu 2021) because in 2018 Clarivate Analytics added a new subject classification named Cross-Field—which includes
researchers who did not make it as HCRs in a specific subject category but have multiple highly cited papers in several fields that together
qualify them to be classified as HCRs. Without Cross-Field, the average number of HCRs per year during 2014–2021 would have been
447/3,435 in Summe. The sum of HCRs by field (455/3,502) is greater than the total (d.h., 447/3,435) because of overlap.

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Figur 2. Proportion of researchers maintaining their HCR status by the number of years between
2014 Und 2021. An example of how to read this figure: 36% of the male HCRs maintained their
HCR status for 4 years compared to 28% among female HCRs.

and earth and environmental sciences; quadruple in mathematics, Physik, and astronomy;
and increase more than fivefold in chemistry, computer science, and engineering to close
the gap with men.

4.3. Gender Gap in HCR Status Retention

Abramo et al. (2017) examined all professors in Italy, identified the top ones based on research
productivity, tracked their performance, and concluded that women were less successful than
men in maintaining their stardom over time. In this study, we similarly found that 62% von
women maintained their HCR status for more than 1 year compared to 69% of men. Wir
also found that the difference in success rate in maintaining HCR status over time increases
in favor of men as more elite ranges of performance are considered (z.B., scientists with 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, Und 8 years of HCR status). Zum Beispiel, 4% of women maintained their HCR status in
alle 8 years between 2014 Und 2021, compared to 8% among the 9,987 male HCRs (sehen
Figur 2 for more examples). One could attribute these differences to women’s shorter career
and publication history or because women leak out of STEM fields before progressing further
in their careers more than men (Carr et al., 2015; Ceci et al., 2014; Diamond, Thomas et al.,
2016; Sonst, 2017, 2020; Huang et al., 2020; Sheltzer & Schmied, 2014). Wir, Jedoch, attri-
bute these differences to three other or additional considerations: The study covers a short
Zeitraum, 2014–2021; the number of female HCRs is far smaller than men to allow accurate
gender comparisons here; and a higher proportion of woman than men were more recently
classified as HCRs—for example, of all female HCRs, 13% were first classified as HCRs in
2021 compared to 10% among men (Figur 3). These results suggest that it will become more
pertinent to accurately assess gender differences in HCR status retention as time passes.

4.4. Gender Gap by Region

Nordamerika, Oceania, and Northern, Southern, and Western Europe are home to 1,656 (oder
89%) of the world’s 1,855 female HCRs. Women’s representation among all HCRs in these
five regions ranges from 15% Zu 18%, compared to the world average of 13.7%. Obwohl
in Latin America and the Caribbean (Wo 8% of the world’s population resides) women rep-
resent over 26% of all HCRs in the region, they account for only 1% oder 19 of the world’s 1,855
female HCRs. Ähnlich, in Sub-Saharan Africa (Wo 15% of the world’s population resides),
women represent over 19% of all HCRs in the region, but they account for only 0.3% or six of
the world’s 1,855 female HCRs. Women’s gender gap among HCRs is most pronounced in

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Figur 3. Proportion of HCRs entering the list for the first time by year. The year 2014 is excluded
because it marks the beginning of the period covered in the study.

Südasien, Ostasien, the Middle East and North Africa, and Eastern Europe, where women’s
representation among all HCRs in their respective regions ranges from a high 10% to a low 6%
(Figur 4). These results corroborate those of Bendels and colleagues (2018), who found that
women’s representation among the authors of articles in 54 of the highly prestigious Nature
journals is highest in Latin America (36%), followed by North America, Oceania, and Europe
(30–33%), and a distant last Asia (20%).

4.5. Gender Gap by Country

At the individual country level, we find a wide-ranging or highly disproportionate distribution
of women’s representation among HCRs, extending from 0% (In 26 Länder) Zu 100%
(Figur 5). Of the 50 countries with at least one female HCR, 33 exceed the world average
von 13.7% in women’s proportion among the total population of HCRs; the number of countries
rating above the world average is high largely due to the relatively small number of male and
female HCRs in most countries. In der Tat, of the 50 countries with female HCR representation,
nur 16 have more than 1% of the world’s share of all HCRs, und nur 13 countries have more
als 1% of the world’s share of female HCRs. Countries with sizeable numbers of HCRs but

Figur 4. Proportion of female HCRs by geographical region. Figures in parentheses refer to the number of female HCRs in the region over the
total number of HCRs in the region. The world average proportion of female HCRs during 2014–2021 is 13.7%. The sum of all regions is
higher than the total number of HCRs and higher than 100% due to researchers’ mobility between 2014 Und 2021.

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highly disproportionate representation of women include Taiwan (4/73), Südkorea (5/94),
und Iran (1/40). Our data revealed several important observations among the 16 countries with
über 1% of the world’s HCRs (Figur 6):

▪ The great majority are countries with mature and open scientific systems, strong scientific
output, and high support for science and research and development (Nature Index,
2014; Wagner & Jonkers, 2017).

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Figur 5. Proportion of female HCRs by country. Figures in parentheses refer to the number of
female HCRs in the country over the total number of HCRs in the country. Highlighted in red are
countries with more than 1% of the world’s share of HCRs.

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Gender gap among highly cited researchers, 2014–2021

Figur 6. Gender gap among HCRs by country. The chart is limited to the 16 countries with over
1% of the world’s share of HCRs. Figures for the proportion of female authors are from Science-
Metrix (2018).

▪ China: Although women make up over 40% of all authors (Science-Metrix, 2018), they lag
far behind in representation among HCRs. The situation is so grim that women’s share of
HCRs needs to increase by 450% to close the gap with men. According to Tang and Horta
(2021A, 2021B), despite the legal assurance of gender parity in China and even though
women make up more than half of all the country’s authors, Chinese female academics
still encounter many obstacles in terms of promotion, participation in institutional and
research leadership positions, and access to resources; are more likely to be part of net-
works or collaborative dynamics that are less visible, less impactful, or farther from the
centers of authority in the field and institutions; and their imbalanced representation in
the higher academic ranks (d.h., full professor), as leaders of departments, faculties, or uni-
versities, and in the most research-oriented universities creates many challenges for them.
▪ Germany: In the past two decades, Germany has introduced several programs to increase
women’s participation in science, such as the “Women Professorship Programme” and the
“Pact for Research and Innovation.” Despite the positive impact of these programs (Bührer
& Frietsch, 2020), women in Germany still constitute only 21% of the country’s authors,
one of the lowest proportions in Europe. Jedoch, because of this low representation of
women among authors, Germany ranks the sixth closest to bridging the gender gap among
HCRs compared to the other 15 Länder. Women’s share of HCRs in Germany would
need to increase by 65% to close the gap with men (compared to 142% globally).

▪ Japan: Although women in Japan account for only 6.7% of all HCRs in the country, Die
gender gap in HCRs is lower than in most other countries, mainly because Japan has one
of the world’s lowest proportions of female authors (13.5%). Women’s share of HCRs in
the country would need to increase by 102% to close the gap with men (compared to
142% globally). Japan’s gender gap in science is essentially a result of its patriarchal soci-
ety (Bendels et al., 2018), stagnation in research productivity, and few opportunities for
permanent jobs for early-career scientists (Fuyuno, 2017). In 2020–2021, women’s share
of HCRs in the country increased by three (oder 20%) against a world average of 23%.
▪ Saudi Arabia: It has not only one of the world’s lowest proportions of female authors and
female HCRs but also all of its 12 female HCRs are expatriates, Und 11 of them are

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affiliated with a single institution—King Abdulaziz University, which is historically known
for hiring international HCRs with minimal duties on campus (Bhattacharjee, 2011; Bia-
gioli, Kenney et al., 2019; Pachter, 2014). The lack of home-grown female HCRs in Saudi
Arabia can largely be attributed to cultural reasons (z.B., patriarchal society) and the fact
that the country has one of the world’s widest gender gaps in employment (OECD, 2019).
▪ Singapore: Has been investing heavily in research as an engine for growth (Van Noorden,
2018). Nine of the 10 female HCRs in Singapore are located at the country’s second and
third most productive research institutions—Nanyang Technological University (5) Und
the Agency for Science, Technologie & Forschung (4). The gender gap among HCRs in
the country remains very high (über 300%), but the fact that 70% of Singapore’s HCRs
entered the list in 2020 Und 2021 (against a world average of 23%) could be a sign that
the heavy investment in research has just started to pay off among early-career female
researchers in terms of their number and representation among the country’s HCRs.
▪ Switzerland: Is the only country where the proportion of female HCRs is almost the same
as that of female authors.

5. DISCUSSION AND CONCLUSION

The proportion of female authors worldwide has improved remarkably, with the great majority
of countries currently exceeding 30% (Sonst, 2017, 2020; Holman et al., 2018; Larivière
et al., 2013; Science-Metrix, 2018). The number and proportion of women among senior pro-
fessors (associate and full professors) have also increased considerably in the past few years;
Zum Beispiel, in den Vereinigten Staaten, aus 44,900 (oder 28%) In 2010 Zu 61,700 (oder 33%) In 2019
(Nationale Wissenschaftsstiftung, 2022), in Canada from 8,049 (30%) In 2010 Zu 10,458 (36%) In
2020 (Statistics Canada, 2021), among European Union countries (including the United King-
dom) aus 20% In 2010 Zu 26% In 2018 for full professors and from 36% Zu 40% for Grade B
academic staff (European Commission, Directorate-General for Research and Innovation,
2013, 2021), and in India from 53,591 (28%) In 2010 Zu 73,016 (34%) In 2019 (AISHE,
2013, 2020). Despite these improvements, this study found a huge gender gap among HCRs.
The proportion of female HCRs (d.h., those who train junior scientists or serve as role models)
is worryingly low, considering women’s numbers and proportions among the general popula-
tion of authors and senior professors.

The time it would take to close the gender gap among HCRs depends greatly on initiatives
taken and reforms made in policies, Ausbildung, mentoring, funding, and publishing. Periodic
and frequent assessments and evaluations of these reforms are also necessary to ensure suc-
Prozess. As found in the study by Tang and Horta (2021A) on female academics in China, interest
in the gender gap in science is largely triggered by governmental policy considerations and
changes. It becomes relatively dormant during periods of lower policy activity.

Another worrying finding is that women have not been able to maintain their HCR status for
as long as men. This could be due largely to women’s shorter career and publication history
and the fact that women leak out of STEM fields before progressing further in their careers
more than men (Sonst, 2020; Huang et al., 2020). Darüber hinaus, nur 9% of all female HCRs
are classified under chemistry, computer science, engineering, Mathematik, Physik, Und
astronomy compared to 22% in the case of men. Official reports, such as the one based
on the 2018 large-scale global survey of mathematical, natürlich, and computing scientists
(Guillopé & Roy, 2020), show evidence that women and men do not have the same experiences
in science, and that women’s experiences are less positive than men’s regarding sexual harass-
ment, fair and respectful treatment, career progression and discrimination, access to resources,

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Figur 7. Women’s HCR representation in chemistry, computer science, engineering, Mathematik
& Statistiken, and physics & astronomy (by geographical region).

and effect of children on the career. Even where women’s HCR representation in these fields is
relatively good (d.h., in North America and Northern, Southern, and Western Europe (Figur 7))
recent reports published by learned societies in these four regions indicate that the gender gap
in science conditions is still very grim. Zum Beispiel, the Royal Society of Chemistry (2018) In
the United Kingdom describes a context of funding uncertainty, an inflexible and unsupportive
academic culture, and gender-stereotyped family and home care expectations as barriers that
limit women’s progress in the field. A report by the National Academies of Sciences, Maschinenbau,
und Medizin (2018) in the United States and another in Canada (Holroyd-Leduc & Straus,
2018) describe a pervasive, persistent, and damaging culture of harassment that limits the
participation and advancement of women in STEM. All these reports recommend more effec-
tive policies and initiatives to reduce the gender gap in science.

Coe, Wiley, and Bekker (2019) mention that diversity within the scientific workforce brings
unique perspectives, drives creativity and innovation, and provides new contexts for under-
standing and applying research findings. Leaders and practitioners in STEM continue to be
unaware of and poorly educated about the nature, extent, and impact of barriers to the full
participation of women in these fields. This lack of awareness and education results in the
failure to fully mobilize the human capital of half the global population and limits technolog-
ical and medical advances. This study shows that high levels of female author representation
(such as those in China, Südkorea, and Taiwan) are insufficient to diminish the gender gap
among HCRs. The chronic lack of recruitment, promotion, and retention of female scientists,
stars and otherwise, is due to systemic, strukturell, organizational, institutional, cultural, Und
societal barriers to equity, Diversität, and inclusion. These barriers must be identified and
removed through increased awareness of the challenges combined with evidence-based,
data-driven approaches leading to measurable targets and outcomes (Coe, Wiley, & Bekker,
2019; Nielsen, Bloch, & Schiebinger, 2018).

We suggest that efforts to enhance women’s representation among HCRs be wide-ranging,

realistic, and include, unter anderen:

▪ Reforms in academic publishing and peer review, and guarantees that women have equal
access to professional networks, are afforded equal resources at work, are given better
access to parental and personal support, and that the extra demands outside the workplace
that traditionally fall on women are taken into account when assessing achievements

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(Bates, Gordon et al., 2016; Ceci et al., 2014; Duch et al., 2012; Lerback & Hanson, 2017;
Lutter & Schröder, 2020; Shaw & Stanton, 2012; Station & Wolf-Wendel, 2012).

▪ Use of quotas or specific targets for the number and proportion of female STEM faculty or
academic staff and requiring these methods within organizations and departments (Coe
et al., 2019). The impact of such a requirement is best exemplified by the Swiss Institute
of Bioinformatics (SIB), which strictly implements the principles of equality, Diversität,
and inclusion, aiming for gender-balanced representation among their academic and
scientific staff. The result of this policy at SIB is a population of staff where nearly half
(49%) are women, including software developers, computational biologists, Wissenschaftler,
managers, and data analysts. Mit 55 HCRs in total, it was not surprising that 24 (oder
44%) of SIB’s HCRs were women—ranking second in the world in terms of female
representation among HCRs, behind the U.S. National Institute on Aging’s 46% (oder 6 out
von 13 HCRs).
▪ Increase in the number of female role models in the scientific workforce of organizations
and academic departments. This is a key factor in reducing the gender gap, as women
receive more inspiration and aspiration from outstanding female role models than men
(Bell et al., 2019; Botella et al., 2019; Lockwood, 2006). Increasing the pool of women
top scholars (as researchers and mentors) within an institution or a country can have a
snowball effect, as boasting more female scholars helps in increasing and producing
top scholars (Aguinis et al., 2018; Chan & Torgler, 2020).

▪ Introduction of excellence initiatives to facilitate women’s access to resources, Netzwerke,
and research infrastructure (Hottenrott, Rose, & Lawson, 2021). Universities, Zum Beispiel,
may wish to focus on identifying stars based on objective measures and then implement
policies that guarantee more significant growth opportunities (z.B., reduced teaching load
and greater allocation of research funds (Aguinis et al., 2018)).

▪ Development of gender-based national, regional, or international rankings or ratings of
research institutions (universities and others) assessing the number, proportion, and status
of female scientists they have. Such rankings can provide valid and valuable information
for determining excellence in achieving gender-balanced representation among academic
and scientific staff (siehe Tabelle 2 as an example). Administrators could rely on these rank-
ings or ratings as indicators of improvement over time, as methods to determine institu-
tional priorities, and as benchmarking tools against peer institutions. Governments and
funding agencies would use these rankings or ratings for information about the perfor-
mance of their higher education institutions or other organizations in which they have
invested resources.

▪ Have national academies, professional associations, and scientific societies use gender-
based criteria in decision-making. Zum Beispiel, membership in the Association of Amer-
ican Universities (AAU) is considered one of the most prestigious honors in higher
education in the United States. Among the criteria influencing the Association’s decision
to forward an invitation for membership are the number of HCRs and the number of
national academy members an institution has. One could only imagine what aspiring
institutions would do if AAU required, as a condition of membership, that institutions
must meet certain gender-based thresholds, such as a minimum number and proportion
of female scientists, HCRs, and national academy members (with a minimum number of
service years at the institution with full-time status).

Efforts to enhance women’s representation among HCRs must consider the social, cultural,
wirtschaftlich, historisch, and political contexts in which researchers conduct scientific research.
Each country and institution should carefully study its contexts to facilitate women’s success.

Quantitative Science Studies

1017

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1
0
0
3
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0
7
0
7
8
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Q
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0
2
1
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0
7
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2
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Gender gap among highly cited researchers, 2014–2021

Tisch 2. Gender disparity among HCRs, by institution (top 50 institutions by total number of HCRs)

Institution
Wellcome Sanger Institute,

Großbritannien

Mayo Clinic, Vereinigte Staaten

Johns Hopkins Universität, Vereinigte Staaten

Nationale Gesundheitsinstitute (NIH),

Vereinigte Staaten

King’s College London,
Großbritannien

Duke University, Vereinigte Staaten

Washington University in Saint Louis,

Vereinigte Staaten

Cornell University, Vereinigte Staaten

Universität von Michigan, Vereinigte Staaten

Imperial College London,

Großbritannien

Yale Universität, Vereinigte Staaten

University of Texas M.D. Anderson
Cancer Center, Vereinigte Staaten

Brigham & Women’s Hospital,

Vereinigte Staaten

University of North Carolina
Chapel Hill, Vereinigte Staaten

University of California San Francisco,

Vereinigte Staaten

University of Queensland, Australia

University College London,

Großbritannien

Broad Institute, Vereinigte Staaten

Utrecht University, Niederlande

Harvard Universität, Vereinigte Staaten

University of Cambridge,

Großbritannien

Universität in Stanford, Vereinigte Staaten

University of Melbourne, Australia

University of Washington Seattle,

Vereinigte Staaten

Total
HCRs
80

Ranking by
total HCRs
27

Female
HCRs
22

64

101

173

61

90

95

98

73

79

84

60

76

72

85

69

87

115

62

542

97

214

73

113

T44

12

5

47

20

T18

T14

T34

T28

24

T48

T31

T37

23

T39

21

10

46

1

16

4

T34

11

17

26

43

15

21

22

21

15

16

17

12

15

14

16

13

16

21

11

95

16

35

12

18

Ranking by
female HCRs

T8

T15

4

2

T24

T10

T8

T10

T24

T18

T15

T37

T24

T31

T18

T34

T18

T10

T43

1

T18

3

T37

14

% of female
HCRs
27.5

26.6

25.7

24.9

24.6

23.3

23.2

21.4

20.5

20.3

20.2

20.0

19.7

19.4

18.8

18.8

18.4

18.3

17.7

17.5

16.5

16.4

16.4

15.9

Ranking by %
of female HCRs

1

2

3

4

5

6

7

8

9

10

11

12

13

14

T15

T15

17

18

19

20

21

T22

T22

24

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Gender gap among highly cited researchers, 2014–2021

Tisch 2.

(Fortsetzung )

Total
HCRs
96

Ranking by
total HCRs
17

Female
HCRs
15

Ranking by
female HCRs
T24

% of female
HCRs
15.6

Ranking by %
of female HCRs
24

Institution
Columbia University, Vereinigte Staaten

University of Pennsylvania,

Vereinigte Staaten

Universität von Toronto, Kanada

University of California San Diego,

Vereinigte Staaten

Massachusetts General Hospital,

Vereinigte Staaten

Centre National de la Recherche

Scientifique, Frankreich

Max Planck Society, Deutschland

University of California Berkeley,

Vereinigte Staaten

99

79

95

82

78

164

127

Massachusetts Institute of Technology,

158

Vereinigte Staaten

University of Maryland College Park,

60

Vereinigte Staaten

Universität Oxford, Großbritannien

Howard Hughes Medical Institute,

Vereinigte Staaten

Dana-Farber Cancer Institute,

Vereinigte Staaten

University of Texas at Austin,

Vereinigte Staaten

Memorial Sloan Kettering

Cancer Center, Vereinigte Staaten

University of California Los Angeles,

Vereinigte Staaten

Princeton University, Vereinigte Staaten

California Institute of Technology,

Vereinigte Staaten

122

69

65

74

76

98

72

64

Chinesische Akademie der Wissenschaft, China

260

Universität von Chicago, Vereinigte Staaten

Nordwestliche Universität,

Vereinigte Staaten

Tsinghua University, China

66

59

86

13

T28

T18

T25

30

6

8

7

T48

9

T39

T42

33

T31

T14

T37

T44

2

41

50

22

15

12

14

12

11

23

17

21

8

16

9

8

9

9

11

7

6

24

6

5

6

T24

T37

T31

T37

T43

7

T15

T10

T65

T18

T57

T65

T57

T57

T43

T75

T85

T5

T85

+100

T85

15.2

15.2

14.7

14.6

14.1

14.0

13.4

13.3

13.3

13.1

13.0

12.3

12.2

11.8

11.2

9.7

9.4

9.2

9.1

8.5

7.0

T26

T26

28

29

30

31

32

T33

T33

35

36

37

38

39

40

41

42

43

44

45

46

l

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w
N
Ö
A
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/

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1
0
0
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0
7
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Gender gap among highly cited researchers, 2014–2021

Tisch 2.

(Fortsetzung )

Institution
King Abdulaziz University,

Saudi-Arabien

Nanyang Technological University,

Singapur

National University of Singapore,

Singapur

King Saud University, Saudi-Arabien

Total
HCRs
232

73

65

82

Ranking by
total HCRs

3

T34

T42

T25

Female
HCRs
16

Ranking by
female HCRs
T18

% of female
HCRs
6.9

Ranking by %
of female HCRs
47

5

1

1

+100

+300

+300

6.8

1.5

1.2

48

49

50

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS

The author would like to thank the referees and Debora (Ralf ) Shaw for their valuable
comments and suggestions.

COMPETING INTERESTS

The author has no competing interests.

FUNDING INFORMATION

No funding was received for this study.

DATA AVAILABILITY

The data used in this study is available in a repository (Lokman, 2022).

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