Women are underrepresented on the editorial boards of journals in environmental biology and natural resource management

Despite women earning similar numbers of graduate degrees as men in STEM disciplines, they are underrepresented in upper level positions in both academia and industry. Editorial board memberships are an important example of such positions; membership is both a professional honor in recognition of achievement and an opportunity for professional advancement. We surveyed 10 highly regarded journals in environmental biology, natural resource management, and plant sciences to quantify the number of women on their editorial boards and in positions of editorial leadership from 1985-2013. We found that during this time period, only 16% of editorial board members were women, with more pronounced disparities in positions of editorial leadership (i.e., Associate Editors, Editors-in-Chief). Although the trend was towards improvement over time, there was surprising variation between journals. We argue editorial boards should strive for gender parity to increase the number of women afforded the opportunities and benefits that accompany membership, as well as increase the number of role models and mentors for early-career scientists and students.