Assessing Drivers of Gender Balance and Racial Makeup of Editorial Board Members in Biomedical Engineering

Scientific journal editors serve as gatekeepers with the decision-making power of assigning reviewers to manuscripts. Serving as an editor is also an important stage in a young academic’s career progression, and an indicator of high regard/acceptance within one’s academic field. For both of these reasons, it is important to have representation with members of underrepresented groups serving in these roles. In this paper, we explore the gender and racial distribution among editorial boards for peer-reviewed scientific journals that are relevant to the field of biomedical engineering (BME). Further, we examine changes in these distributions from 2016 to 2021, amidst societal shifts catalyzed by movements such as #metoo and Black Lives Matter (BLM). Despite BME’s reputation for a relatively high percentage of female degree-earners, this study reveals stark disparities in gender and racial representation among editorial leadership positions. Through meticulous data collection and analysis of 75 BME journals— including 44 for which data from both 2016 and 2021 were analyzed—it was found that while the proportion of female editors increased over time, this proportion consistently fell short of the expected standard, which was based on current BME degree awardee values. Moreover, the percentage of Black editors remained stagnant. Correlation analyses between gender, race, and changes in journal impact factor (ΔJIF) revealed nuanced trends, in some cases showing that increasing ΔJIFs were associated with decreasing proportions of female editors. The study underscores the urgent need for changes in social and policy standards to address gender and racial inequities in BME [editorial] leadership, both of which will be necessary to foster greater diversity and inclusivity throughout the field.