Editorial Board Gender Balance

TO THE EDITOR: I read with interest a recent commentary in the European Journal of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging detailing the gender inequity associated with the composition of the journal editorial board (1). This was followed by further analysis (2) of 25 nuclear medicine journals across the United States, Europe, and Asia that reported the universality of the gross disparity between male and female members of the editorial boards for journals. Clearly, gender diversity on an editorial board provides valuable perspective and builds a culture of equality in the profession and research. Nonetheless, the analysis was at a loss to explain the gender differential (on the order of 4:1 favoring men).

Although the specific journals were not identified by name, the Journal of Nuclear Medicine Technology (JNMT) may have been overlooked because this analysis is far from representative. Indeed, the JNMT is a model for gender equality, with 11 female and 9 male editorial board members comprising a female editor, 8 female associate editors, 7 male and 1 female consulting editors, 2 male international consulting editors, and a female managing editor. The historically inclusive culture of the Society of Nuclear Medicine and Molecular Imaging Technologist Section and JNMT, combined with more equitable gender distribution among professional colleagues, provides a benchmark and formula for others to follow. Yet it also provides an insight that reflects the traditional male predominance of physician, physicist, and radiochemist numbers in the editorial board composition of medical and physics journals. The emergence of a greater gender balance across science, technology, engineering, and medicine (STEM) provides encouragement that the expertise of the profession, and thus journal editorship, will also find a balanced gender equilibrium.

It should be noted that this discussion, and the original works (1,2), do not accommodate nonbinary gender classifications or, indeed, other important aspects of diversity that enrich an editorial team (e.g., ethnicity, age/experience, and sexual orientation)—something to consider moving forward. But for now, this is an opportunity to celebrate the JNMT as an international leader and benchmark for gender equity.

• Revision received August 12, 2021.
• Accepted for publication August 24, 2021.