A retrospective overview of the scientific researches of Turkish female ophthalmologist scholars: Is there any gender discrimination?

PURPOSE: The purpose of the study is to determine how male and female authors are represented in academic ophthalmol-ogy publications in Turkey, as well as how publishing types have evolved over time.
METHODS: Online available Turkish articles (6416 articles from 40 journals) published by the Scientific and Technological Research Council of Turkiye, Turkish Academic and Information Center, between 1995 and 2022 were retrospectively assessed. The following parameters were retrieved and recorded: Article type, publication year, gender of the first and last author, gender of the corresponding author, and total female and male authors.
RESULTS: The publications were grouped over a 5-year period, from 1995 to 2022, and there was a statistically significant rise in female authors per publication over time (P = 0.023). The majority of publications were research articles (75%), followed by case reports (18.3%) and reviews (3.1%). Gender disparities in publication types were statistically non-significant (P > 0.005). Compared to males, females made up 42.6% and 34.2% of the first and last authors, respectively. Moreover, 42.4% of the corresponding authors were female.
CONCLUSION: Gender imbalance appears to be diminishing among Turkish Ophthalmology academics, and a surge in female academic productivity is encouraging.