Gender Comparison of Scholarly Production in the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society Using the Hirsch Index

ObjectiveDespite an increase in the proportion of female medical school graduates, the number of women in orthopedic surgery remains low. To examine the presence of gender disparities in scholarly production, the authors used the Hirsch index (h-index) to assess members of the Musculoskeletal Tumor Society (MSTS), a well-defined subspecialty of orthopedic surgery.DesignUsing the MSTS Membership Directory, the authors assessed those practicing at an academic institution in the United States. Members׳ sex and rank was obtained from their department’s website, and their h-index and years since initial publication was collected from the Scopus database.SettingResearch was performed at New Jersey Medical School, an institution, using online databases.ParticipantsA total of 247 members of the MSTS were eligible, of whom 125 practiced at a US academic medical center and were included in the study.ResultsThe MSTS is composed of 247 members, 28 (11%) of whom are women. Within US academic medical centers, there are 125 members, including 17 (14%) women. Mean h-indices increased with rising academic rank from 5.42 for assistant professors to 19.28 for professors. Publication ranges showed an increase from 11.03 years for assistant professors to 29.52 years for professors. The h-index and publication years of chairpersons were nearly equal to those of professors.Using the h-index, it was found that men outproduce women—13.4:7.9. Men outnumber women at every rank, increasingly so at higher ranks. The authors found that there was a significant difference in productivity between ranks (p < 0.01) and between sexes (p = 0.035), but not between sexes at the assistant professor, associate professor, or professor levels (p = 0.147, 0.581, and 0.263, respectively).ConclusionsThe h-index shows differing production among the sexes and ranks in the MSTS. No significant difference exists between the sexes when members are organized by academic title.