Evidence map›Paper›PMID 40919337›Full record

ArticleBioscience2025

Forward steps, lingering gaps: gender representation among distinguished speakers at professional conferences.

Sara Bombaci, Cooper Farr, Liba Pejchar, Kate D Wilkins, Tessa Wittman

Abstract read
In one paragraph

Article in Bioscience, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Cited by 2 papers.

0numbers the graph read from it
0cells of the map it votes in
2citing 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

2 citing papers in PubMed.

  1. Article
  2. 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

5 authors.

Sara BombaciDepartment of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and with the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0001-7734-2381
Cooper FarrConservation Science Program, Tracy Aviary, Salt Lake City, Utah, United States.
Liba PejcharDepartment of Fish, Wildlife, and Conservation Biology and with the Graduate Degree Program in Ecology, Colorado State University, Fort Collins, Colorado, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9253-9884
Kate D WilkinsDepartment of Field Conservation, Denver Zoo Conservation Alliance, Denver, Colorado, United States.ORCID https://orcid.org/0000-0002-9875-1149
Tessa WittmanRuckelshaus Institute, Haub School of Environment and Natural Resources, University of Wyoming, Laramie, Wyoming, United States.

Funding

No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.

6 · The paper itself

Abstract

Plenary speakers serve as role models for early-career scholars, and these talks advance the speakers' careers while celebrating the important scientific contributions of women. Professional conferences are an ideal venue for assessing progress toward equity goals across disciplines. We examined gender disparities among distinguished speakers at North American ecology conferences from 2000 to 2023. We found that women's representation as speakers has increased, especially in the past decade, but they remain underrepresented relative to their proportion among graduate students. Disparities persist across institutions, disciplines, and career stages, particularly for women in later career stages. In addition, the COVID-19 pandemic did not notably affect women's representation, and nonbinary genders remain minimally represented, underscoring ongoing challenges in achieving inclusive representation. Although the gender gap has not yet closed, this emerging positive trend for women speakers at professional ecology conferences is encouraging.

Indexed as

gender equitykeynote addressplenary speakervirtual meetingswomen in science

Identifiers

PMID40919337
PMCPMC12412295

What OpenQuestion holds

Textmetadata
LicenceCC BY
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.