Outcomes of COVID-19 manuscripts submitted to the Canadian Journal of Anesthesia : a retrospective audit of author gender and person of colour status

Purpose We aimed to evaluate the representation of women and persons of colour (POC) authors of COVID-19 manuscripts submitted to, accepted in, and rejected from the Journal and to evaluate trends in their representation during the pandemic. Methods All COVID-19 manuscripts submitted to the Journal between 1 February 2020 and 30 April 2021 were included. Manuscript data were retrieved from Editorial Manager, and gender and POC status were obtained through: 1) e-mail communication with corresponding authors; 2) e-mail queries to other coauthors; 3) NamSor software, and 4) Internet searches. The data were described using percentages and summary statistics. A two-sample test of proportions was used for comparisons and trends were analyzed with linear regression. Results We identified 314 manuscripts (1,555 authors), 95 (461 authors) of which were accepted for publication. Of all authors, 515 (33%) were women, and women were the lead and senior authors of 101 (32%) and 69 (23%) manuscripts, respectively. There were no differences in women’s representation as authors between accepted and rejected manuscripts. Overall, 923/1,555 (59%) authors were identified as POC, with a significantly lower proportion of POC authors among accepted vs rejected manuscripts (41%, 188/461 vs 67%, 735/1,094; difference, -26%; 95% CI, -32 to -21; P < 0.001). We did not observe significant trends in the proportion of women and POC authors over the study period. Conclusion The proportion of women authors of COVID-19 manuscripts was lower than men’s representation. Further research is required to determine the factors that account for the higher proportion of POC authors across rejected manuscripts.