Campanaro Giovanni, Centini Francesca Romana, Sicca Cecilia, Davico Jazmin, Musella Emanuele, Chebaro Kamel, Totis Francesca, Cannizzaro Delia
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Rozzano Milan, Italy.
Department of Biomedical Sciences, Humanitas University, Rozzano Milan, Italy.
J Clin Neurosci. 2025 Aug 1;140:111523. doi: 10.1016/j.jocn.2025.111523.
In the last few years, more efforts have been made to increase gender equity in medical specialties. Nevertheless, spinal neurosurgery continues to be one of the most male-dominated subspecialties in neurosurgery. This bibliometric analysis sought to explore the representation of female authors in major neurosurgical publications between September 2017 and August 2022, with a focus on first and last authorship roles across journals and countries. The paper analyzed 3171 unique publications within a framework of 93 high-impact neurosurgery-related journals. Results showed that female authors were 14,25 % of first authors and 7,88 % of last authors, and that only 2,11 % of articles had both female first and last authors. Country of affiliation and the journal of publication significantly influenced the author's gender representations, with Scandinavian states and certain journals, like Neurocritical Care, showing relatively high percentages of female authorship. Even if there has been minor progress over the recent past, disparities nowadays persist, potentially limiting diversity in perspectives and advancements in this field. These disparities underline the presence and the influence of systemic and cultural factors impeding gender equity, and underscoring the critical need for proactive measures to foster it, including mentorship programs, institutional support, and policies for balanced opportunities. The COVID-19 pandemic amplified inequities in this field, disproportionately impacting female academics due to increased domestic responsibilities without the corresponding implementation of support systems. The significant role of mentorship in improving female representation was also highlighted by this analysis: our data indicated higher collaboration rates between female first and last authors in the field of spinal neurosurgery. To address these challenges, efforts must be made starting during residency, with the aim of targeting systemic barriers and cultural biases. The implementation of inclusive policies, like on-site childcare programs, and fostering international collaboration, might help to reduce these disparities and to ensure that diversity drives innovation in spinal neurosurgery. Such an approach is essential for addressing inequity, which is not merely a matter of fairness but is central to advancing the field. This would ensure that only talent and hard work are what determine success in spinal neurosurgery, which is imperative for the progress of the speciality, enabling diverse perspectives to shape the future of patient care, research, and academic leadership.
在过去几年里，人们为提高医学专科领域的性别平等做出了更多努力。然而，脊柱神经外科仍然是神经外科中男性主导程度最高的亚专科之一。这项文献计量分析旨在探究2017年9月至2022年8月期间主要神经外科出版物中女性作者的占比情况，重点关注各期刊和不同国家的第一作者和最后作者的角色。该论文在93种高影响力神经外科相关期刊的框架内分析了3171篇独特的出版物。结果显示，女性作者占第一作者的14.25%，占最后作者的7.88%，且只有2.11%的文章第一作者和最后作者均为女性。作者所属国家和发表期刊对作者的性别占比有显著影响，斯堪的纳维亚国家以及某些期刊，如《神经重症监护》，女性作者占比相对较高。即便近期有了些许进步，但如今差距依然存在，这可能会限制该领域观点的多样性和发展。这些差距凸显了阻碍性别平等的系统性和文化因素的存在及影响，强调了采取积极措施促进性别平等的迫切需求，包括导师指导计划、机构支持以及提供平等机会的政策。新冠疫情加剧了该领域的不平等，由于家庭责任增加而相应的支持系统却未实施，女性学者受到的影响尤为严重。该分析还强调了导师指导在提高女性占比方面的重要作用：我们的数据表明在脊柱神经外科领域女性第一作者和最后作者之间的合作率更高。为应对这些挑战，必须从住院医师阶段就开始努力，旨在消除系统性障碍和文化偏见。实施包容性政策，如现场儿童保育计划，并促进国际合作，可能有助于减少这些差距，并确保多样性推动脊柱神经外科的创新。这种方法对于解决不平等问题至关重要，这不仅关乎公平，而且对于推动该领域发展至关重要。这将确保在脊柱神经外科领域，只有才华和努力才是决定成功的因素，这对于该专科的发展至关重要，使不同的观点能够塑造患者护理、研究和学术领导力的未来。
