[Paper Review] Gender Disparities in International Research Collaboration: A Large-scale Bibliometric Study of 25,000 University Professors

Marek Kwiek, Wojciech Roszka|arXiv (Cornell University)|Mar 1, 2020

scientometrics and bibliometrics research83 references15 citations

TL;DR

This large-scale bibliometric study analyzes international research collaboration patterns among 25,463 Polish university professors across 27 disciplines. Using logistic regression and multi-level analysis, it reveals that while women collaborate more nationally and institutionally, men significantly dominate in international collaborations—especially after age 40—highlighting a key gender disparity in research impact and grant access.

ABSTRACT

In this research, we examine the hypothesis that gender disparities in international research collaboration differ by collaboration intensity, academic position, age, and academic discipline. The following are the major findings: (1) while female scientists exhibit a higher rate of general, national, and institutional collaboration, male scientists exhibit a higher rate of international collaboration, a finding critically important in explaining gender disparities in impact, productivity, and access to large grants. (2) An aggregated picture of gender disparities hides a more nuanced cross-disciplinary picture of them. (3) An analysis of international research collaboration at three separate intensity levels (low, medium, and high) reveals that male scientists dominate in international collaboration at each level. However, at each level, there are specific disciplines in which females collaborate more than males. Further (4), gender disparities are clearly linked with age. Until about the age of 40, they are marginal and then they begin to grow. Finally, we estimate the odds of being involved in international research collaboration using an analytical linear logistic model. The examined sample includes 25,463 internationally productive Polish university professors from 85 universities, grouped into 27 disciplines, who authored 159,943 Scopus-indexed articles.

Motivation & Objective

• To investigate gender disparities in international research collaboration across academic disciplines, positions, and age groups.
• To examine whether collaboration intensity levels (low, medium, high) reveal different patterns of gender disparity.
• To assess the role of age in shaping gender differences in international collaboration.
• To estimate the odds of international collaboration using a logistic regression model, controlling for discipline and academic position.
• To uncover disciplinary variations in gendered collaboration patterns that may be masked in aggregated data.

Proposed method

• The study analyzed 159,943 Scopus-indexed articles authored by 25,463 Polish university professors from 85 universities.
• Data were grouped into 27 academic disciplines and stratified by academic rank and age cohorts.
• Collaboration intensity was categorized into low, medium, and high levels based on the number of international co-authors.
• A linear logistic regression model was used to estimate the odds of being involved in international collaboration, controlling for discipline, rank, and age.
• The analysis included both descriptive statistics and cross-disciplinary comparisons to reveal nuanced gender patterns.
• The study used data from Scopus and institutional records, ensuring high validity for bibliometric analysis.

Experimental results

Research questions

• RQ1 Do gender disparities in international research collaboration vary by academic discipline?
• RQ2 How do collaboration intensity levels (low, medium, high) influence gender differences in international collaboration?
• RQ3 At what age does the gender gap in international collaboration begin to emerge and grow?
• RQ4 Are there specific disciplines where women surpass men in international collaboration despite the overall male advantage?
• RQ5 What are the odds of international collaboration for male versus female professors after controlling for discipline and academic rank?

Key findings

• Men exhibit significantly higher rates of international collaboration compared to women, even though women show higher rates of national and institutional collaboration.
• The gender gap in international collaboration grows substantially after age 40, becoming increasingly pronounced in mid-career and senior academic positions.
• In all three collaboration intensity levels—low, medium, and high—men dominate international collaboration, though there are discipline-specific exceptions where women surpass men.
• The logistic regression model confirms that being male increases the odds of international collaboration, even after controlling for discipline, rank, and age.
• Disciplinary variation reveals that in some fields, such as social sciences and humanities, women's international collaboration rates exceed those of men, challenging the overall trend.
• Aggregated gender disparities obscure significant cross-disciplinary differences, indicating that discipline-specific policies are needed to address inequities.