Representation of women as editors in andrology journals

Background Surveys of gender diversity in editorial boards of journals have been conducted in several disciplines, but not in andrology. Objectives The present study was designed to investigate the gender distribution of editorial boards of andrology journals. Methods A total of eight andrology journals were included in the study, and the gender information and geographical location of editors were identified based on the information obtained from the Internet. Results A total of 382 editors' gender information was confirmed. Women made up 1 of the 9 editors-in-chief (11.1%), 13 of the 68 deputy/associate editors (19.1%), 37 of the 270 editorial/advisory board members (13.7%) and 0 of the 35 other types of editors (0%). There was no significant difference in the journal impact factor between male and female editors-in-chief (3.060 +/- 1.274 vs 3.842), and no significant association was found between impact factor and the proportion of female editor (Spearman's r = -0.204, P = 0.629). Discussion and conclusion Andrology-related journals lacked adequate gender diversity, not all journals reserved reasonable editorial positions for women. Besides, increased impact factor did not bring additional gender bias. Women should be given more reasonable seats to improve gender diversity in andrology-related journals.