Navigating gender disparities in communication research leadership: academic recognition, career development, and compensation

This article examines gender disparities in academic communication research, focusing on authorship, collaboration, citation impact, faculty representation, and compensation in leading U.S. public universities. An analysis of 62,359 papers from 121 journals (2004–2023) shows women constitute 50.4% of authors and nearly half of sole-authored works, yet receive fewer citations, even in higher-impact journals. Women-only teams perform strongly in journal impact factors, particularly in smaller groups, suggesting parity in some contexts. Persistent biases remain: women in larger mixed-gender teams are cited less, and women Assistant Professors earn 5.61% less than men, though women Associates slightly out-earn men. These findings highlight the need for institutional reforms to promote equitable pay, recognition, and representation in communication research.