The Levy Library Blog

Research Insider presents: Gender Bias in Publishing

Gender imbalance and inequality have been issues for women in STEM fields for quite some time. However, the focus on the need for more representation has seen a significant push over recent years. According to a study by the University of Washington, the number of women authors in scientific publishing was only 30% in 2010. Unfortunately, that number has not seen significant improvement since. 

Levy Library wanted to open up this discussion to the Mount Sinai Health System community with "Gender Bias in Publishing," part of the Research Insider series. This event featured a keynote given by Rebecca Cooney, North American Executive Editor of The Lancet. Ms. Cooney stressed the importance of journal editors and publishers stepping up and being held accountable for addressing the gender gaps by setting diversity targets. The Lancet practices what it preaches and employs mostly women on its editorial board!

The keynote talk was followed by a question and answer session with an interdisciplinary panel of professionals from both medical and publishing fields. The audience was highly engaged and provided a lively conversation that voiced frustrations, painted relatable anecdotes, and provided hope for the future of women in scientific publishing. 

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Thank you to Rebecca Cooney, our panelists and our energetic audience! We look forward to bringing you more future programming on this topic!

Be sure to keep an eye on the Levy Library events page!