Analysis: The Lack of Diversity in Climate-Science Research

Oct 6, 2021 | Ayesha Tandon
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Publishing research in respected journals, such as Nature or Science, is a key way for academics to share their findings with the scientific community and beyond.

A researcher’s publication record is often considered a measure of their influence in the field and can be crucial for their career progression. 

The pressure on researchers to publish high-quality work is so great that it has spawned the phrase “publish or perish”. However, the playing field of scientific publishing is highly unequal and it can be disproportionately challenging for certain groups of people – including women and researchers from the global south – to succeed in this system.

A recent analysis entitled “The Reuters Hot List” ranked the 1,000 “most influential” climate scientists – largely based on their publication record and social media engagement. Scientists from the global south are vastly under-represented in the list, with, for example, only five African scientists included. Meanwhile, only 122 of the 1,000 authors are female.