The Gender of COVID-19 Experts in Newspaper Articles: a Descriptive Cross-Sectional Study

Abstract

Background: Pre-existing gender-based disparities in academia may have worsened during the COVID-19 pandemic. Being cited as an expert source in newspaper articles about COVID-19 may increase an individual’s research or leadership profile. In addition, visibility in a newspaper article is an important component of representation in academia. Objective: To determine whether women were underrepresented as COVID-19 expert sources in print newspapers in the USA. Design: We undertook a cross-sectional study of English-language newspaper articles that addressed the COVID-19 pandemic and that were published in the top 10 most widely read newspapers in the USA between April 1 and April 15, 2020. Main Measures: We extracted the names of all people cited as expert sources and categorized the gender of each expert source based on pronoun usage within the article or on a business, university, or organization website. The professional role of each expert was assigned based on their description in the article. Key Results: Of 2297 expert sources identified, 35.9% (95% confidence interval [CI] 33.9–37.8%; n = 824) were women and 63.7% were men (95% CI 61.8–65.7%; n = 1464). This result was similar when considering unique experts in each newspaper and for all included newspapers; of the 1738 unique experts per newspaper, 34.6% were women (95% CI 32.3–36.8%; n = 601), and of the 1593 unique experts in all newspapers, 36.5% were women (95% CI 34.1–38.9%; n = 581). Of articles with multiple experts referenced (n = 374), 102 cited only men experts (27.3%) and 44 cited only women experts (11.8%). Women were underrepresented as experts as Healthcare Workers and Professionals, Non-STEM Experts, Public Health Leaders, and STEM Scientists. There were no differences in the proportion of women experts between newspapers or between different regions of the USA. Conclusions: Altogether, our findings support that men academics outnumber women as COVID-19 experts in newspaper articles.