Gender Disparity in Movement Disorders Research Authorship: Progress and Persistent Gaps Across a Decade.
Gender Disparity in Movement Disorders Research Authorship: Progress and Persistent Gaps Across a Decade.
Where did the research take place?
The study site has not been established. Author addresses may differ from where the research occurred.
New Delhi, IN · Author affiliation
Department of Neurology, All India Institute of Medical Sciences, New Delhi, India.Location evidence
Dhahran, SA · Author affiliation
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, King Fahad Military Medical Complex, Dhahran, Saudi Arabia.Location evidence
FR · Author affiliation · country only
France Développement Electronique, Monswiller, France.Location evidence
Rennes, FR · Author affiliation
CIC1414, CIC-IT, CHU Rennes, Université de Rennes, Rennes, France.Location evidence
São Paulo, BR · Author affiliation
Department of Neurology, University of São Paulo, São Paulo, Brazil.Location evidence
IT · Author affiliation · country only
Department of Medicine, Surgery and Dentistry "Scuola Medica Salernitana", University of Salermo, Baronissi, Italy.Location evidence
Naples, IT · Author affiliation
IRCCS SYNLAB SDN, Naples, Italy.Location evidence
Kassel, DE · Author affiliation
Department of Neurosurgery, University Medical Center, Goettingen, Paracelsus-Elena Hospital, Kassel, Germany.Location evidence
Macerata, IT · Author affiliation
School of Advanced Studies, University of Camerino, Macerata, Italy.Location evidence
US · Author affiliation · country only
College of Medicine, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida, USA.Location evidence
Honolulu, US · Author affiliation
Queens Medical Center, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA.Location evidence
Calgary, CA · Author affiliation
Department of Clinical Neurosciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, Alberta, Canada.Location evidence
Tokyo, JP · Author affiliation
Department of Neurophysiology, National Institute of Neuroscience, National Center of Neurology and Psychiatry, Tokyo, Japan.Location evidence
EG · Author affiliation · country only
Department of Neurology, Faculty of Medicine, Beni-Suef University, Beni-Suef, Egypt.Location evidence
Toronto, CA · Author affiliation
Edmond J. Safra Program in Parkinson's Disease, Morton and Gloria Shulman Movement Disorders Clinic, Toronto Western Hospital, Toronto, Ontario, Canada.Location evidence
Cork, IE · Author affiliation
Department of Neurology, Cork University Hospital, Cork, Ireland.Location evidence
A plain-language reading has not been prepared for this paper yet.
Original abstract
BACKGROUND: Despite increasing numbers of women practising neurosciences, gender disparities persist in academic authorship. Focused evaluation of authorship patterns within movement disorders remains limited. OBJECTIVE: To examine trends in women authorship across movement disorders publications in high-impact neurology journals and movement disorders-specific journals across a decade. METHODS: We conducted a cross-sectional bibliometric analysis of movement disorder-related articles published in 2014 and 2024 in 20 neurology journals with the highest impact factor and two flagship movement disorders journals related to the International Parkinson and Movement Disorders Society. Women authorship proportions were calculated overall and by article type. First-to-senior authorship representation ratios were examined, and associations with journal impact factors were explored. RESULTS: A total of 919 articles (9431 authors) were analyzed in 2024 and 755 articles (5801 authors) in 2014. Overall women authorship was 41.1% in 2024 compared with 38% in 2014 and senior (last) women authorship was 37% (2024) and 36% (2014). In 2024, women accounted for 43% of first and 31% of senior authors in Movement Disorders, compared with 41% and 27%, respectively, in 2014. A representation gap from first-to-senior authorship persisted across most journals. No clear association was observed between journal impact factor and women authorship. CONCLUSIONS: Over the past decade, women's representation in movement disorders publishing improved at first authorship levels but remained stagnant at low levels in senior authorship roles. Persistent lacuna between first and senior women authorship is an underexplored gap that may reflect a combination of structural barriers, cohort effects, and life-course factors. © 2026 International Parkinson and Movement Disorder Society.