When it comes to academia, gender diversity declines as we move higher on the hierarchy. On the base level, women represent the majority of academic students in the US, but their share decreases with each next level on the academic ladder.
This report focuses on global female contribution to academic publishing over the last decade, as well as the comparison between countries and universities when it comes to gender diversity. We’ll also look into how academic publishing diversity compares with the number of women in academia on all levels.
How many academic papers are published by women?
Between 2017 and 2020, around 31.99% of academic papers, reviews, surveys, and other documents published globally were published by women. This amounts to over 6.89 million documents over a 4-year period.
This was a 3.37% increase compared to the previous 4-year period when women authors accounted for 30.95% of all published papers.
Over the last decade, the share of academic papers written by female authors has increased by 7.24%, and since 2008 the increase is 12.81%.
However, women still account for less than a third of all published academic papers worldwide.
In the United States, around 35.17% of all academic papers released between 2017 and 2020 were credited to female authors, an increase from 33.24% between 2014 and 2017.
Period
Total published documents (in millions)
Articles by female authors
Share of articles by female authors
Change
2017-2020
21.55
6.89
31.99%
3.37%
2014-2017
17.74
5.49
30.95%
3.74%
2011-2014
14.56
4.34
29.83%
5.20%
2008-2011
11.35
3.22
28.36%
Between 2017 and 2020, over 1.65 million academic papers in the United States were published by female authors, the most in the world.
Chinese female scientists published over 672 thousand papers over the same period, the second most globally.
The United Kingdom is the third largest producer of academic papers published by women over the last 4 years, with over 413 thousand papers.
These 3 countries, along with Italy and Germany, account for more than 50% of all academic papers released by female authors.
Country
Articles published by female authors (2017-2020) – in thousands
Share of articles published by female authors
United States
1,654.20
35.17%
China
672.31
25.44%
United Kingdom
413.10
32.79%
Italy
394.14
40.04%
Germany
347.37
28.10%
Australia
282.99
36.76%
Brazil
275.77
43.54%
France
274.18
34.05%
Canada
265.93
35.37%
Spain
246.55
37.65%
Netherlands
187.26
35.98%
South Korea
136.69
19.15%
Poland
129.14
44.46%
Japan
125.65
13.33%
Sweden
109.92
35.40%
Iran
98.70
27.02%
Switzerland
83.12
28.66%
Turkey
79.88
38.58%
Belgium
78.92
32.94%
Portugal
78.14
45.51%
Serbian female academic authors account for 52.43% of all academic papers published in that country between 2017 and 2020, the biggest share of female authors among all countries worldwide (publishing more than 10,000 academic papers per year).
Argentina is the only other country where women represent the majority of academic authors over this period, with 50.26% of papers published by female authors.
The United States is ranked 18th globally when it comes to the share of academic papers published by women with 35.17%, the UK is 26th with 32.79%, while China ranks 37th with 25.44%.
Country
Total articles, in thousands (2017-2020)
Articles by female authors
Share of articles published by female authors
Serbia
56.05
29.39
52.43%
Argentina
44.80
22.52
50.26%
Thailand
55.45
25.36
45.73%
Portugal
171.72
78.14
45.51%
Poland
290.44
129.14
44.46%
Brazil
633.39
275.77
43.54%
Italy
984.40
394.14
40.04%
Turkey
207.03
79.88
38.58%
Finland
155.19
59.40
38.27%
Spain
654.81
246.55
37.65%
Ireland
78.64
29.29
37.24%
Australia
769.74
282.99
36.76%
New Zealand
81.09
29.74
36.68%
Netherlands
520.47
187.26
35.98%
Norway
124.55
44.41
35.66%
Sweden
310.51
109.92
35.40%
Canada
751.85
265.93
35.37%
United States
4,703.71
1,654.20
35.17%
South Africa
109.53
38.34
35.00%
Among universities, 88,281 academic papers published over the last 4 years at Harvard University are credited to female authors, the most among all universities worldwide.
Women account for 36.79% of academic authors at Harvard between 2017 and 2020.
The University of Toronto released over 54,422 papers published by women over the same period, the second-most in the world, while the University of São Paulo ranks third with over 53,110 documents by female authors.
University
Country
Total articles (2017-2020)
Articles by female authors
Share of articles by female authors
Harvard University
United States
239,964
88,281
36.79%
University of Toronto
Canada
137,197
54,422
39.67%
University of São Paulo
Brazil
125,413
53,110
42.35%
Johns Hopkins University
United States
114,089
45,729
40.08%
University of Washington – Seattle
United States
93,365
37,990
40.69%
University of Michigan
United States
97,589
36,650
37.56%
University College London
United Kingdom
98,982
36,037
36.41%
University of Melbourne
Australia
90,954
35,725
39.28%
University of Copenhagen
Denmark
95,733
35,375
36.95%
University of Paris
France
84,492
33,676
39.86%
Stanford University
United States
99,105
32,489
32.78%
Duke University
United States
82,700
31,689
38.32%
University of California – San Francisco
United States
71,996
31,632
43.94%
University of Pennsylvania
United States
84,865
31,018
36.55%
University of Sydney
Australia
76,105
30,877
40.57%
University of Oxford
United Kingdom
94,889
30,764
32.42%
Sapienza University of Rome
Italy
71,615
30,289
42.29%
Karolinska Inst
Sweden
67,739
28,577
42.19%
University of Milan
Italy
63,812
28,524
44.70%
Sorbonne University
France
77,950
27,873
35.76%
Other facts on women in academia
As stated in the introduction of this report, women have a disproportionate low presence at the higher levels of academia. The fact that only 35% of academic articles are published by women demonstrates this inequality:
Over 59.5% of all college students in the United States are women as of 2021.
As we move up on the ladder, the share of female academics declines – women account for 54% of non-tenure-track professors and 43% of tenured professors, and 33% of full professors.
Going further, only 30% of college presidents in the United States are women, and this number drops to 22% when it comes to elite colleges.
The gender pay gap is also present in academic institutions, varying from 20% in administration to around 10% in higher management.
