by Yoon Ha Lee
May
70
53
17
75.71%
24.29%
Average
74.67
56
18.67
75%
25%
Looking at a separate twelve month period of Clarkesworld Magazine’s submissions, we can see additional evidence of variation in gender ratios. This chart looks at both total submissions (including science fiction, fantasy, horror, science fiction/fantasy and science fiction/horror) and science fiction subs only (including science fiction, science fiction/fantasy and science fiction/horror.)
While the overall breakdown for the year was 71.06% men and 28.94% women for all submissions, the highest month for representation of men came in at 73.19%, and the lowest at 69.62%. This gives us a 3.57% difference between the months with the highest and lowest representation of men. So, we can see that a one-month sample would not have accurately reflected the yearly ratios.
Table 3: Clarkesworld Submissions Gender Ratio Variation
Overall
High
Low
High-Low Difference
Men
Women
Men
Women
Men
Women
Total Subs
71.06%
28.94%
73.19%
26.81%
69.62%
30.38%
3.57%
Science Fiction Subs
75.29%
24.71%
77.21%
22.79%
73.58%
26.42%
3.63%
We also see variation in overall volume of submissions, as detailed below. (In all cases but the highest volume of total subs by women, the highs/lows in volume by gender were also found in the same month as for overall submissions.) Again, we can see that while the average (mean) month had 776 submissions, with 551 by men and 224 by women, one month had 933 submissions total, while one had only 649.
Table 4: Clarkesworld Submissions Volume Variation
Average
High
Low
Total
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Total
Men
Women
Total Subs Volume
776
551
224
933
657
278
649
475
174
Science Fiction Subs Volume
403
303
100
517
381
136
338
259
79
Given these variations, it is likely that the submission samples are not giving a completely accurate representation of the overall yearly ratios, so any kind of specific ranking of markets based on the ratios given here would not be a good idea. That said, we can likely still draw tentative generalized conclusions.
Overall, I have data for fourteen of the seventeen markets when it comes to submissions for all genres, and twelve of the seventeen markets for science fiction submissions.
Table 5: Submissions Data Provided By Markets
Market
All Stories Sample
Science Fiction Stories Sample
Notes
AE
150 submissions of the 503 total for 2013.
150 submissions of the 503 total for 2013
Analog
Read and replied for thirty days during the months of January and February 2014.
Read and replied for thirty days during the months of January and February 2014.
This market did not look at the submissions that were received in a certain time period, but rather at the submissions which were replied to.
Apex
Read and replied from January 1st 2014 - February 18th 2014.
(Sample 1)
Read and replied from January 1st 2014 - February 18th 2014.
(Sample 2)
This market did not look at the submissions that were received in a certain time period, but rather at the submissions which were replied to.
Asimov’s
Read and replied for thirty days during the months of December and January 2014.
No submissions data available
This market did not look at the submissions that were received in a certain time period, but rather at the submissions which were replied to.
The number of submissions closed in this time period was unusually high, but the gender ratios are in accordance with the yearly total for closed submissions.
Bull Spec
a) Total number of submissions for last open subs.
b) Submissions received October 1st - October 10th and November 1st - November 5th.
Submissions received October 1st - October 10th and November 1st - November 5th.
Last open Subs were the months of October and November, 2011
Buzzy Mag
No submissions data available.
No submissions data available.
Clarkesworld
Submissions received for year seven which ranged from October 2012 - October 2013.
Submissions received for year seven which ranged from October 2012 - October 2013.
Clarkesworld tracks submissions in the categories of Science Fiction, Fantasy, Horror, Science Fiction/Fantasy, and Science Fiction/Horror. Science Fiction, Science Fiction/Fantasy and Science Fiction/Horror were considered as Science Fiction for this study. (In general, editors divided submissions based on a broad definition of Science Fiction.)
Daily Science Fiction
Three weeks of submissions during February 2014.
No submissions data available.
Escape Pod
Stories read in February, May, and April 2014.
Stories read in February, May, and April 2014.
This market did not look at the submissions that were received in a certain time period, but rather at the submissions which were read.
F&SF
No submissions data available.
No submissions data available.
F&SF Special Issue
All submissions in open period from January 1st - January 14th.
All submissions in open period from January 1st - January 14th 2014.
Flash Fiction Online
a) Total number of submissions in 2013.
b) Submissions received October 2013.
Submissions received October 2013.
October 2013 was an unusually busy month.
Editor based count on author’s submission tag, but estimates that another 7-10% of submissions could be considered science fiction.
IGMS
a) Total submissions for year 2013.
b) Submissions received January 2014 (Sample 2)
a) Submissions received April 2013. (Sample 1)
b) Submissions received January 2014. (Sample 2)
Lightspeed
Total submissions for 2013.
Total submissions for 2013.
Lightspeed was open to submissions in June and July of 2013.
While closed to slush, there was a “submissions backdoor” for authors Lightspeed had previously published/solicited.
Submissions data from that portal was incorporated into these results.
This doesn’t include any data from the Women Destroy Science Fiction special issue, which opened to submissions December 15, 2013.
Nature
Total submissions for 2013.
Total submissions for 2013.
Strange Horizons
Two weeks of 2013, six months apart.
Two weeks of 2013, six months apart.
Tor.com
No submissions data available.
No submissions data available.
Submissions Volume
&nb
sp; In addition to looking at the proportions of submissions by gender, it is also interesting to look at the number of submissions received by each market. There is a wide disparity between the volume of submissions received by each market. In order to give an indication of this, markets that gave only a sample of submissions were brought to a one year volume for comparison. This is only a rough comparison; in addition to the variability between different time periods mentioned earlier, some of these markets may be closed to submissions at various points.
The deficiencies of this method of estimation can be seen by comparing the actual total submissions with the estimate from the sample, in the markets where we have both values: Flash Fiction Online, IGMS, and Bull Spec. This has some impact on certain statistical tests (e.g. chi-square) but does not necessarily invalidate most of the results found here.
Submissions Ratios
Overall, we see a much smaller degree of variance between markets with Submissions than we saw with Publications.
All Submissions
Range: Submissions by Men: 81.31% to 54.59% = 26.72%
Range: Submissions by Women: 18.69% to 45.41% = 26.72%
The mean ratios are 67.94% men, 29.63% women, 0.02% non-binary and 2.43% unknown.
The median ratios are 68.40% men, 29.55% women, 0% non-binary and 0% unknown.
Science Fiction Submissions
Range: Submissions by Men: 81.31% to 58.67% = 22.64%
Range: Submissions by Women: 18.69% to 41.27% = 22.58%
The mean ratios are 70.92% men, 27.52% women, and 1.61% unknown.
The median ratios are 72.65% men, 25.89% women, and 0% unknown.
Note: For ease of comparison between All Subs and Science Fiction Subs (where possible), the source of the data is indicated in the label for each market.
No market received more submissions from women than from men.
As in the previous article, I tested to see if these differences were significant, and found:
The differences in submissions ratios between markets are significant, both for all submissions and science fiction submissions specifically.
Science Fiction Submissions by Genre of Market
I have no evidence to say that women make up a smaller proportion of submissions for science fiction only markets than for mixed-genre markets.
Mixed-Genre Publications: Gender Split of Total Subs vs. Gender Split of Science Fiction Subs
I found a moderate-strong positive correlation, so there is a tendency for mixed genre-publications who receive a high proportion of total submissions from one gender to also receive a high proportion of science fiction submissions from that gender.
Submissions Ratios by Gender of Senior Editorial Team
I found no significant relationships between gender of senior editorial team and gender ratios of submissions either for all stories or for science fiction stories.
Story Submission Split by Average Age of Senior Editorial Team
I found no significant relationships between age of senior editorial team and gender ratios of submissions either for all stories or for science fiction stories.
So, What Does This All Mean?
There are several interesting results from looking at the Submissions data. While there is significant variation between markets, the range is much smaller than we saw in Publications. In addition, while a significant number of markets published more women than men in the Publications data, no market received more submissions from women than from men, either overall or for science fiction. In mixed-genre markets, we see that a relatively high proportion of total submissions from one gender is correlated with a relatively high proportion of science fiction submissions from that gender.
The volume of submissions received shows dramatic variation. While these figures were estimated in some cases, it is fair to say that yearly submission volumes between markets range from a few hundred up to a few thousand. As such, the idea that gender ratios in submissions are due to the fact that women simply don’t write science fiction is patently untrue. While this might be the case for high-volume markets, the number of science fiction stories written by women in total is far greater than the number received by many markets. For example, if approximately 30% of the science fiction submissions by women received by Strange Horizons were instead submitted to Nature, we would see an equal gender representation in Nature’s submissions. (This is assuming that all stories submitted to Nature were also submitted to Strange Horizons. If we assume no overlap, the number is around 20%. The actual number is likely somewhere in the middle. Please note that I am aware that a suitable submissions for one market is not necessarily a good fit for another. This thought experiment serves as an illustration of the comparative volume of submissions and the effect that increased or diverted submissions from a small percentage of the women authors in the field could have on some markets.)
However, there is no obvious smoking gun which shows us why submissions ratios vary between markets. I found no significant correlations between gender ratios of submissions and any of the categories that we tested. Based on our data, genre of market, age of senior editorial team, and gender of senior editorial team, are not factors that are related to the ratio of submissions by men and women.
A Note on Comparing Submissions with Published Stories
This all begs the question—is there a relationship between submissions ratios and publications ratios? In the next installment, I will be looking at what further analysis can be carried out regarding this data. In the meantime, I would like to warn readers about the problems with attempting to carry out a simple analysis of the Submissions Ratios from samples, vs Publications From Slush for a whole year.
Conveniently, we have a good example of the pitfalls of this approach. Four markets provided data on the Stories Accepted from Slush during the time period of submissions data provided, which we can compare to Stories Published from Slush in the time period given in the previous article: Clarkesworld, Bull Spec, Flash Fiction Online, and Lightspeed.
Looking at the differences between what was accepted from that specific slush sample, and what was published in a full year, we can see that a simple analysis of Submissions Ratios for the samples given vs Publications from Slush for an entire year would not give an accurate picture.
Table 6: Acceptances from Submissions Sample Time Period vs Yearly Publications
Acceptances from Slush
Publications from Slush
Total
Men
Women
Non-Binary
Total
Men
Women
Non-Binary
Clarkesworld
32
11
21
0
36
11.5
24.5
0
34.38%
65.62%
0%
31.94%
68.06%
0%
Bull Spec
3
2
0
1
6
2
4
0
66.67%
33.33%
33.33%
66.67%
0%
Flash Fiction Online
18
8
10
0
21
8
13
0
44.44%
55.56%
38.10%
61.90%
0%
Lightspeed
35
19
15
1
48
25
23
0
54.29%
42.86%
2.86%
52.08%
47.92%
0%
Next Time on Adventures in Statistics: Our hero wraps things up with a pretty pink bow! Will she be able to avoid overdosing on graphs?
>
About the Author
Susan E. Connolly’s short fiction and non-fiction have appeared in Strange Horizons, Daily Science Fiction, The Center For Digital Ethics and the fanzine Journey Planet. She is the author of Damsel, a middle-grade fantasy from Mercier Press and Granuaile, an upcoming historical comic book from Atomic Diner. Her degree in Veterinary Medicine given her strong opinions about the accurate portrayal of animal sidekicks in fiction. Susan lives in Ireland, near the mountains. Also near the sea. Also near the forest (Ireland is a small country).
The Issue of Gender in Genre Fiction:
The Math Behind the Slush
Susan E. Connolly
Editor’s Note: Knowing that some people will be curious about the math behind Susan’s piece, we asked her to provide something a bit more technical for those more mathematically inclined among us.
Submissions Variation Between Markets
Hypothesis: There are no significant differences in gender ratios relationship between markets.
All Submissions
Chi Square: 248.94
Critical value at 99.9%: 34.53
I can reject the null hypothesis
Science Fiction Submissions
Chi Square: 89.6
Critical value at 99.9%: 31.26
I can reject the null hypothesis
Science Fiction Submissions by Genre of Market
Hypothesis: Science fiction only markets are not more likely to receive submissions from men.
Using a Pearson’s correlation I got an R value of 0.14 (considered weak), with a T-value of 0.46 and a p value of 0.33. For a one-tailed t-test the critical value is 1.81.
Therefore I cannot reject the null hypothesis.
Non-Science Fiction-Only Publications: Gender Split of Total Subs vs. Gender Split of Science Fiction Subs