Sir

As an oceanographer I enjoyed your recent Insight on Bio-oceanography (Nature 437, 335–368; 2005). But the only female author in this section was the senior editor who wrote the introduction. This is quite surprising, considering the number of highly qualified women in biological oceanography. In fact, 42% of the members of the American Society of Limnology and Oceanography who are registered as biological oceanographers are women.

I have found that, during the years 2004–2005 (volumes 421–437), Nature published 11 Insights with 68 individual overviews, reviews and/or commentaries. Only 10 of the 134 authors were women, and a woman was the first author in only about 4% of cases.

In all cases when the author's name caused the slightest doubt about their sex, I searched the web for confirmation. In nearly every case there was a picture available — and although I cannot rule out cross-dressing, I have no reason to suspect it is widespread. In the only case in which I could not find the information I was seeking, I used a name finder to tell me the author's sex.

A balanced sex ratio is impossible to maintain in peer-reviewed publications, and indeed should not be a goal in peer-reviewed articles. But Insights are written by invitation only, so the editors can decide who they believe could best contribute. The editors should make more effort to promote equality in the process of publication.