Breaking New Ground, Reinforcing Old Gaps: Gender Disparities in Access to Emerging Research Frontiers

Abstract: This study exploits COVID-19 as an exogenous shock in biomedical research to show how the emergence of an unexpected new research topic exacerbates gender bias in key authorship positions of scientific publications relevant to new research topics (e.g. Vaccines, Epidemiology). We determine author's gender based on the names listed on their scientific publications and analyze the changes in the composition of the scientific teams after the COVID-19 outbreak. Using a Difference-in-Differences approach, we find that although the share of female authorship has increased overall, women are less likely to be first or last authors (the most prestigious positions) on COVID-19-related research papers and more likely to be found in middle author positions. Stay-at-home mandates, the journal importance and funding opportunities do not fully account for the decline of women in key author positions. The main difference in first authorship is due to the composition of the team and the experience of the lead authors in COVID-19 related research. First authorship by women declined after teams of novices emerged, where lead authors have no prior experience in COVID-related research. Discretionality in first-author appointments for newcomers, combined with high pressure to publish quickly, may have led to discriminatory biases. Conversely, there may also be differences in risk-taking attitudes in doing research in unfamiliar domains. Monitoring gender inequality in scientific production is crucial for reducing gender inequalities and for implementing timely policies that ensure equal access to emerging research topics.