Evidence map›Paper›PMID 33469777›Full record

ArticleJournal of general internal medicine2021

The Gender of COVID-19 Experts in Newspaper Articles: a Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study.

Sarah Fletcher, Moss Bruton Joe, Santanna Hernandez, Inka Toman, Tyrone G Harrison, Shannon M Ruzycki

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Journal of general internal medicine, 2021. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 3 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
3citing papers in PubMed
–field-weighted citation impact
1 · What the graph read from it

What it found

Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.

The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.

2 · The registry

The trial behind it

Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.

Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.

3 · Its place in the literature

Who cites it

3 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. Article
  3. Article
4 · The record

Corrections and comments

PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.

5 · Who and what money

Authors and funding

6 authors.

Sarah FletcherFaculty of Medicine, University of British Columbia, Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada.
Moss Bruton JoeCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Santanna HernandezCumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Inka TomanDepartment of Medicine, Faculty of Medicine & Dentistry, University of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada.
Tyrone G HarrisonDepartment of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.
Shannon M RuzyckiDepartment of Medicine, Cumming School of Medicine, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada. shannon.ruzycki@ucalgary.ca.ORCID http://orcid.org/0000-0002-8122-2910

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

backgroundPre-existing gender-based disparities in academia may have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being cited as an expert source in newspaper articles about COVID-19 may increase an individual's research or leadership profile. In addition, visibility in a newspaper article is an important component of representation in academia.

objectiveTo determine whether women were underrepresented as COVID-19 expert sources in print newspapers in the USA.

designWe undertook a cross-sectional study of English-language newspaper articles that addressed the COVID-19 pandemic and that were published in the top 10 most widely read newspapers in the USA between April 1 and April 15, 2020. MAIN MEASURES: We extracted the names of all people cited as expert sources and categorized the gender of each expert source based on pronoun usage within the article or on a business, university, or organization website. The professional role of each expert was assigned based on their description in the article. KEY

resultsOf 2297 expert sources identified, 35.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 33.9-37.8%; n = 824) were women and 63.7% were men (95% CI 61.8-65.7%; n = 1464). This result was similar when considering unique experts in each newspaper and for all included newspapers; of the 1738 unique experts per newspaper, 34.6% were women (95% CI 32.3-36.8%; n = 601), and of the 1593 unique experts in all newspapers, 36.5% were women (95% CI 34.1-38.9%; n = 581). Of articles with multiple experts referenced (n = 374), 102 cited only men experts (27.3%) and 44 cited only women experts (11.8%). Women were underrepresented as experts as Healthcare Workers and Professionals, Non-STEM Experts, Public Health Leaders, and STEM Scientists. There were no differences in the proportion of women experts between newspapers or between different regions of the USA.

conclusionsAltogether, our findings support that men academics outnumber women as COVID-19 experts in newspaper articles.

Indexed as

COVID-19Cross-Sectional StudiesFemaleHealth PersonnelHumansMalePandemicsSARS-CoV-2COVID-19 pandemicexpertisegender-based disparities

Identifiers

PMID33469777
PMCPMC7815280

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
Read underepoch 390

Registered trials

None linked

Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.