Longitudinal analysis of gender and geographical representation in the NIH Developmental Biology Study section

Abstract

It is well documented that women are underrepresented in the scientific community. According to the National Academies of Sciences, Engineering, and Medicine, women do not pursue careers in science due to the barriers they face in matters such as funding and resources. Additionally, Guan Y, et al. found that most published papers in the United States originate from a handful of metropolitan areas; illustrating that in addition to gender disparities in the field, there are also geographic disparities. To ensure discoveries that serve humanity broadly, the scientific community should be at the forefront of diversity and inclusion. To evaluate the current diversity of the scientific community, this present study analyzed the NIH Developmental Biology Study Section rosters for the years 2011, 2016 and 2021. Each year the various NIH Study Sections have three meetings to review research grant applications. Study authors used a pilot tested Google Form for data extraction that included: NIH study section, member name, member position, type of membership, member institution, member state, and gender. Gender was determined through institutional profiles of the members, or in the absence of a profile, by utilizing genderize.io - requiring a probability of 0.6 before reporting gender. In 2011 there were 24 (67%) males and 12 (33%) females. In 2016, there were 21 (68%) males and 10 (32%) females. In 2021, there were 11 (55%) males and 9 (45%) females. With regards to geography, in 2011, most members were from the Northeast (n=12, 33%) and South (n=12, 33%), followed by the Midwest (n=7, 19%) and West (N=5, 14%). In 2016, most members were from the Northeast (n=13, 42%) followed by the Midwest (n=7, 23%), the West (n=6, 19%) and lastly the South (n=5, 16%). Finally in 2021, most members were from the Northeast (n=7, 35%) followed by the South (n=6, 30%), the West (n=4, 20%) and the Midwest (n=3, 15%). Our results showed consistently more male than female members in each of the three years analyzed and highlighted the Northeast as an overrepresented region of residence for section members. This data also shows that the NIH consistently amplifies gender and geographical disparities, specifically, in the Developmental Biology Study Section.