Female voice in academic publications: the 'female voice' in Ethiopian Journal of Development Research (EJDR)

Abstract

The proportion of female authors published in academic journals is much lower than male authors across various fields of disciplines. This article, looking at the life of the Ethiopian Journal of Development Research (EJDR), examines the extent to which the journal has served as a conduit of female voice. The primary concern of this article is on examining ‘the status quo or the what’ rather than ‘the why’ – with regard to the female voice in EJDR. In attempting to gauge the female voice, it looked into the number of female authors and the representation of women’s perspectives in knowledge production through publishing. For the number aspect, using descriptive analysis, the full list of EJDR publications since its inauguration were examined. The number was further assessed in light of the proportion of female representation in development field of study/studies, the rate of participation of females over the life time of the journal and recent increase in women and feminist scholarship focusing on Center for Gender Studies, a Center housed in the College publishing EJDR. For examining the representation of women’s perspectives in the production and dissemination of knowledge, content analysis was employed as the primary methodology. The examination looked into parameters like clustering of female publications in certain fields of studies and preference to qualitative methodology. The findings of the review show that about 12 females have appeared as authors and co-authors of articles across 11 issues of the EJDR, most of these appearing in recent issues. Seen in light of the life of the journal, the number may be very low but seen in terms of the proportion to the potential pool of female contributors, it is perhaps as well as could be expected. The recent increase of female authors in EJDR may be positively associated with the expansion of gender studies program’s in the College and beyond. Limitations in terms of lack of effort towards attracting female academicians to participate in the journal and poor promotional activities, even within the College, have been noted. The review reveals that clustering and concentration on women’s issues is not necessarily the case when it comes to female authored/co-authored articles in the EJDR. Various types of methodologies have also been employed in the female authored articles. Given the important role academic publishing plays towards advancing academic career and alternative views/knowledge, questions regarding who is getting published should be asked on a regular basis.

Keywords: Female voice, academic publications, EJDR