Diversity Is Needed Throughout All Aspects of the Editorial Peer Review Process for Surgery Journals

To the Editor We read with great interest the editorial by Kibbe and Freischlag¹ on the call for diversity and inclusion in a journal’s editorial and peer review process. The authors’ critical appraisal of the retracted article by Hardouin et al² was precise and indeed served as an example of how to review a manuscript. The subsequent analysis of the editorial process did not drop the ball either. We concur with the authors that an editorial team must facilitate a heterogeneous peer review process to limit any biases. Implicit bias is one of the pitfalls of any editorial process, whether subject matter or gender. This particular case highlighted both the inadequate appraisal of a paper and gender bias.