Proceedings of the 9th International Conference on Research in Humanities and Social Sciences
Year: 2024
DOI:
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Examining Gender and Regional Imbalances on Editorial Boards of Lithuanian Scientific Journals: A Multidisciplinary Perspective
Dr. Andrius Suminas
ABSTRACT:
Editorial boards of academic journals serve as a vital mechanism for governing and shaping the academic community, playing a pivotal role in knowledge production and the advancement of scholarly disciplines. Board members undertake critical functions such as managing peer reviews, selecting manuscripts, and establishing editorial policies, thereby influencing academic discourse and research priorities. This study investigates gender and regional imbalances on the editorial boards of Lithuanian scientific journals, with a multidisciplinary lens. Recent global research has highlighted significant disparities in the geographical and regional representation on editorial boards, particularly the under-representation of scholars from the Global South and low-income countries, raising concerns about equity and inclusivity in scientific governance. Focusing on Lithuanian scientific journals, this research systematically examines the geographical and gender affiliations of editorial board members across diverse disciplines. By analyzing publicly available data, the study identifies notable patterns of representation, revealing significant regional and gender-based disparities. The findings highlight variations across scientific fields and underscore the challenges of achieving equitable internationalization in Lithuanian scholarly publishing. These imbalances may impact the inclusivity and diversity of perspectives within the academic discourse, calling for attention to equity in editorial governance.
keywords: Scientific publishing, Editorial boards of scientific journals, Scientific communication