Assessment of Gender Diversity Among Authors in the Journal of Turkish Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Publications
Adeviye Özsoy1
, Burçin Çayhan Karademir2, Fatih Yiğit3, Taylan Adademir3
1Yeditepe University Faculty of Medicine, İstanbul, Türkiye
2Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Health Sciences, Ankara Etlik City Hospital, Ankara, Türkiye
3Department of Cardiovascular Surgery, University of Health Sciences, Koşuyolu High Specialization Training and Research Hospital, İstanbul, Türkiye
Keywords: Surgeons; women; women’s role.
Abstract
Objectives: The number of female cardiovascular surgeons has been steadily increasing over the years in Türkiye. The number of female members in the Turkish Society of Cardiovascular Surgery was 57 (6.97% of the total number of surgeons) in 2010 and increased to 305 (13.97%) in 2022. It is unknown whether the contribution of female cardiovascular surgeons to the scientific literature has paralleled this increase. The aim of our study is to elucidate the proportion of female physician contributions in the publications of the Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery.
Methods: Between 2010 and 2022, a comprehensive review was conducted on the original articles, reviews, and case reports published in the Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery, focusing specifically on the field of cardiovascular surgery. The analysis involved determining the total number of authors, differentiating between female and male authors, and documenting whether female authors held positions as either the first or last author. In cases where gender identification based on names was inconclusive (unisex names), gender verification was performed by accessing the official websites of the authors’ affiliated institutions. Authors who were not cardiovascular surgeons, publications in the field of thoracic surgery, and articles submitted from sources outside of Türkiye were excluded from the study.
Results: A total of 1027 publications from the Turkish Journal of Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery were included in the study, encompassing 3998 authors. Among these authors, 268 were female. Female authors were identified as the first author in 58 articles (5.65%) and as the last author in 46 articles (4.48%).
Conclusion: Despite the increasing number of female surgeons, it is observed that the contribution of female surgeons in publications remains relatively stable and lags behind the overall proportion. The reasons for the relatively low contribution of female authors to scientific literature should be examined, and authors should be encouraged to contribute more to the field of science.
Presented as an oral presentation at the 19th International Congress of Innovations in Cardiology and Cardiovascular Surgery held in Istanbul between 04–06 November 2023.
Cite This Article: Özsoy A, Çayhan Karademir B, Yiğit F, Adademir T. Assessment of Gender Diversity Among Authors in the Journal of Turkish Thoracic and Cardiovascular Surgery Publications. Koşuyolu Heart J 2025;28(3):93–99