Gender differences in submission behavior exacerbate publication disparities in elite journals.

ABSTRACT: Women are particularly underrepresented as leading authors of papers in journals of the highest impact factor, with substantial consequences for their careers. While a large body of research has focused on the outcome and the process of peer review, fewer articles have explicitly focused on gendered submission behavior and the explanations for these differences. In our study of nearly 5000 active authors, we find that women are less likely to report having submitted papers to journals of the highest impact (e.g., Science, Nature, or PNAS) and to submit fewer manuscripts, on average, than men when they do submit. Women were more likely to indicate that they did not submit their papers (in general and their subsequently most cited papers) to high-impact journals because

SUBMITTER: Ni C 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC12923207 | biostudies-literature | 2026 Feb

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature