In recent years, the promotion of gender equity and diversity in academic research has attracted increasing international attention. However, studies examining gender differences in authorship within the anatomical sciences remain limited. This study analyzed regional differences and temporal trends in the gender distribution of first authors in articles published in Anatomical Science International, the official English-language journal of the Japanese Association of Anatomists. All articles published between 2002 and 2025 were retrieved from PubMed, and the gender, country of affiliation, and article type of first authors were examined. Between-group comparisons were performed using the Bonferroni method, and temporal trends were assessed using the Cochran-Armitage trend test. Among the 1,029 articles included, 283 (27.5%) had female first authors. The proportion of female first authors significantly increased from 29/144 (20.1%) in 2002-2006 to 74/236 (31.4%) in 2022-2025. Regionally, Japan had the lowest proportion (99/487, 20.3%), compared with Asia excluding Japan (52/131, 39.7%) and other regions (134/411, 32.6%). By article type, the proportion of female first authors was lowest in review articles (34/182, 18.7%). These findings suggest that structural and contextual factors, including publication practices and access to research resources, may influence differences in female authorship. Promoting inclusive participation and re-evaluating academic structures may support further development in anatomical research.
Inoue et al. (Fri,) studied this question.