25-year analysis of gender and professional trends in authorship of highly cited articles in leading ophthalmology journals

Purpose Understanding trends in female researcher representation can inform strategies to improve equity in academic ophthalmology. This study evaluates authorship and citation trends over 25 years amongst the highest-cited articles in leading ophthalmology journals to assess female co-authorship and differences in authors’ degrees in publications at a highly visible research level. Methods A retrospective analysis was conducted on 443 authors who published the most highly cited articles in high-impact journals from 2000 to 2024. Articles were chosen as the three most cited articles per year from the three highest-impact ophthalmology journals per h5-index. Identities were confirmed via institutional websites, PubMed, and Google Scholar. Gender and degrees were determined using professional profiles. Outcomes included authorship position, first-last author pairings, citation impact, and differences in authors’ degrees by gender. Results From 2000 to 2024, female first authorship rose 38.11%, and overall authorship 43.73%. Female last authorship, though lowest, increased the most (53.63%). Female co-authorship and overall representation peaked in 2010–2014. Male first-authored papers had more citations ( p = 0.011) and were 9.36 times more likely to involve same-gender mentors (CI 4.56, 19.23, p < 0.00001). Men were more often ophthalmologists; women more frequently held PhDs, PharmDs, or ODs ( p = 0.0036). Conclusions Female authorship is rising, but citation gaps and underrepresentation persist. Non-physician female research and female co-authorship success suggest mentorship and interdisciplinary work may enhance women's visibility in ophthalmology research. Continued interventions to promote female ophthalmic career networks are essential in closing the gender gap in research and fostering equitable professional advancement.