The editorial boards of behavior‐analytic journals: An analysis of geographic distribution and presumed gender

Ryan et al. (2025) counted where editorial board members live. They also guessed each editor’s gender from first names.

They looked at every behavior-analytic journal that most BCBAs read. The goal was to see who decides what science gets published.

Most top editors still work at U.S. universities. Men hold the chief editor spots more often.

Women are now half of the regular board members, so the gap is closing lower down.

Holburn (1997) saw the same U.S. tilt in authorship 28 years ago. Ryan shows the leadership tables still look the same.

Kyonka et al. (2024) give step-by-step tactics to add justice, equity, diversity, and inclusion to our science. Ryan’s numbers prove we still need those tactics at the editorial level.

Critchfield et al. (2023) used altmetrics to claim journals already reach the world. Ryan’s map says the people in charge are still mostly American, so reach and representation do not match.

If you review papers or dream of editing someday, know the table is not yet balanced. You can push for wider reviewer lists, nominate overseas colleagues, and say yes when a non-U.S. journal asks for help. Small moves like these chip away at the old geography.