Data from: Women are underrepresented on the editorial boards of journals in environmental biology and natural resource management

Despite women earning similar numbers of graduate degrees as men in STEM disciplines, they are underrepresented in upper level positions in both academia and industry. Editorial board memberships are an important example of such positions; membership is both a professional honor in recognition of achievement and an opportunity for professional advancement. We surveyed 10 highly regarded journals in environmental biology, natural resource management, and plant sciences to quantify the number of women on their editorial boards and in positions of editorial leadership (i.e., Associate Editors and Editors-in-Chief) from 1985 to 2013. We found that during this time period only 16% of subject editors were women, with more pronounced disparities in positions of editorial leadership. Although the trend was towards improvement over time, there was surprising variation between journals, including those with similar disciplinary foci. While demographic changes in academia may reduce these disparities over time, we argue journals should proactively strive for gender parity on their editorial boards. This will both increase the number of women afforded the opportunities and benefits that accompany board membership and increase the number of role models and potential mentors for early-career scientists and students.

尽管女性在STEM学科（Science, Technology, Engineering, Mathematics）中获得的研究生学位数量与男性不相上下，但她们在学术界与工业界的高层职位中仍代表性不足。编委会（editorial board）成员身份便是这类职位的典型范例：其既是对学术成就的专业认可与荣誉，也是推动职业发展的重要契机。我们针对环境生物学、自然资源管理与植物科学领域的10家顶尖期刊展开调研，量化1985年至2013年间，这些期刊编委会及编辑领导岗位（即副主编（Associate Editors）与主编（Editors-in-Chief））中的女性占比。调研发现，在此期间学科编辑中女性占比仅为16%，而在编辑领导岗位中的性别差距更为显著。尽管整体呈随时间改善的趋势，但不同期刊间的差异却出人意料，即便学科方向相近的期刊也不例外。尽管学术界的人口结构变化或可在长期内逐步缩小这类性别差距，但我们认为期刊应主动推动编委会实现性别平等。此举既能让更多女性获得编委会成员身份带来的发展机遇与相关福利，也能为早期职业科研人员及学生提供更多榜样与潜在导师。