A recent study by University of Michigan researchers sheds light on a marked disparity in how male and female scientists promote their work on social media, particularly on X (formerly Twitter). The findings show that women are 28% less likely than men to share their scientific papers online - a gap that could significantly impact their career advancement, visibility, and earnings.

The study carefully accounted for factors such as research discipline, institutional affiliation, and overall social media activity, yet the gender gap in self-promotion remained strikingly persistent. Interestingly, the gap was evident even in fields with relatively balanced gender representation and where explicit bias is less expected.

The disparity becomes even more pronounced as women advance in their careers - particularly among high-performing women from elite institutions publishing in top-tier journals, who stand to gain the most from increased visibility. Co-author Daniel Romero, an associate professor at the university, underscored the significance of the findings: “This isn’t just about tweets. It’s about who gets seen, cited, and celebrated in science.

The analysis drew on six years of data, covering 23 million tweets about 2.8 million research papers authored by roughly 3.5 million scientists. The findings, soon to be published in Nature Communications, raise serious questions about the culture of academic social media, which often rewards traditionally masculine styles of self-promotion—potentially discouraging women from engaging with or publicizing their work.

These insights carry important implications for universities, funding agencies, and hiring committees. The researchers warn that heavy reliance on engagement metrics, such as citations and media mentions, risks obscuring the inequities in self-promotion. Such practices could inadvertently skew hiring and promotion decisions, underscoring the need for institutions to acknowledge and address these disparities.

Source: https://news.ssbcrack.com/study-reveals-significant-gender-gap-in-online-self-promotion-among-women-scientists/