1743P - Bridging the gender gap in oncology: GEORGiNA'S quest for equality in academic research

Background

Gender disparities in academic research in oncology remain a persistent global challenge. There is a significant lack of research on gender inequity in Africa. GEORGiNA (“Gender Equity in Oncology Research” Group of North Africa) is a gender focusing bibliometric study that reviewed cancer research of North-African countries intending to build policy, recommendations, and gender equality actions in the field of cancer research.

Methods

A Pubmed-based bibliometric analysis was conducted over 2018-2022 period. Eligible articles had at least one author from a North-African country in the first or last position. Cancer researchers reviewed articles with authors from their own country to determine their gender accurately. A manual data extraction guide was developed and shared with collaborators to ensure consistent and accurate reporting. Factors associated with gender distribution were studied as appropriate.

Results

A total of 7,109 articles (2018-2022) published by North-African oncologists were included in the bibliometric analysis. Females represented 51% of first authors, with a notable women’s presence in Tunisia (71.9%). Morocco, Algeria, and Egypt demonstrated a fair distribution of female first authors with ratios close to 0.5, while Sudan and Libya exhibited male dominance with percentages of 62% and 70%, respectively. Among 37,019 of co-authors, 44.13 % (n=16,333) were females. Male oncologists were found to have significantly higher representation as principal investigators (PIs) in all countries (p < 0.001). Notably, there has been a remarkable increase in women taking lead authorship roles in recent years, including during the period of the COVID-19 pandemic. Male researchers dominated original articles as PIs (p < 0.001). Indeed, male had received more funding than females and published more open access science (p<0.01). There was a significant difference observed in the involvement of male authors (both first and last positions) in international collaboration compared to females in equivalent positions.

Conclusions

While women in cancer research appear to achieve a fair position, there are still barriers such as insufficient funding and limited international collaboration to drive progress towards gender equity.

Clinical trial identification

Editorial acknowledgement

Legal entity responsible for the study

K. El Bairi and GEORGiNA study collaborators.

Funding

Has not received any funding.

Disclosure

All authors have declared no conflicts of interest.