The gender gap in scholarly self-promotion on social media

Introduction

Traditional and social media play an important role in the dissemination of scientific findings^1,2. Scholars across disciplines commonly use social media platforms like Twitter/X to discuss ideas, learn, and promote their work^{1,3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9–10}. Despite the evolving debate on the link between online attention and academic citations^{11, 12, 13–14}, recent evidence from studies with correlational and causal designs suggests that the online visibility of scientific papers amplifies their impact in the academy through citations^{15, 16, 17, 18, 19–20}. Higher online visibility may also promote diffusion beyond the academy^21,22, bringing more consequential outcomes and impact through media coverage and policy take-up^{23, 24–25}, which further contributes to prevalent alternative measures for scholarly evaluation^{26, 27–28}.

However, the online visibility of scholars’ work is not equally distributed across genders. Recent research reveals that gender gaps observed in traditional scientific outcomes such as citations and awards^{29, 30–31} also appear in online visibility^32,33, despite the absence of traditional gate-keepers. Closing this gender gap requires understanding the social and cultural factors involved in online platforms that may differentially impact who can engage effectively in promoting their scientific achievements. Academic self-promotion, which involves speaking directly about one’s strengths and achievements as a career-enhancing practice^34,35, is an early mechanism that could contribute to substantial differences in online visibility^8,10,36,37.

Studying the gender gaps in self-promotion is thus important for understanding women’s potential underrepresentation and lack of inclusion in science-related conversations. Raising awareness of such gender gaps is a prerequisite for improving research policy through properly accounting for biases that appear in the public’s opinion about who is driving scientific progress and innovation²³, which can affect young people’s career choices³⁸ and shape career-critical promotion decisions in academia³⁹. More broadly, informing people about gender gaps in self-promotion can affect their subsequent opinions and behavior^{38, 39, 40–41} and contribute to targeted interventions that promote gender equity in science^{42, 43–44}.

Several lines of literature suggest that many professional contexts are more conducive to self-promotion by men than women. First, one must decide which of their achievements are worthy of promotion. A number of studies find...