Women and Citations in Jewish Studies

Abstract

Women make up about half of Jewish Studies scholars, and they are 42% of tenure-track faculty at R1 universities. Yet in peer reviewed journals, women made up only about a quarter of cited authors. How can we understand this difference? How does it relate to other fields where bibliometric studies have shown gender gaps? Have there been substantial changes over the past four years, which could correspond with #MeToo and heightened interest in diversity in academic circles? This is not a “bad apple” problem: It can’t be true that each of the many dozens of male article authors independently has a problem of reading and citing fewer women. And if the problem is not just individual men, we will not arrive at the solution by designing strategies to change the citational habits of each individual man. The issue is clearly systemic and structural. This project uses bibliometric analyses of gender and Jewish studies scholarship to begin to answer these questions - as well as generate additional ones.