As we approach the New Year, we would like to celebrate a period of rapid growth and change for the International Journal of Gynecology & Obstetrics (IJGO) in 2021, and look ahead to exciting future developments. The journal has seen another year of marked growth in impact factor, readership, and submissions, and the editorial team (comprising the Editorial Board and editorial office staff) has implemented a number of changes intended to improve the journal both for authors and for readers.

1 EDITORIAL BOARD

The number of annual submissions to IJGO increased exponentially in 2020 and 2021, with almost 35% growth in submissions in 2020 compared with 2019 – this increased rate of submissions has been sustained in 2021. With this growth, the need to expand our editorial board in order to manage peer review efficiently quickly became apparent. We also saw an opportunity to revisit the composition of the Board and ensure its diversity in terms of geographical and gender representation, as well as building a more diverse profile in terms of career stages and specialties of Board members.

With this in mind, we carried out a selection process to appoint an additional representative from each FIGO region to the Board; we also created a new category of Trainee Associate Editors hailing from the World Association of Trainees in Obstetrics & Gynecology (WATOG). New members joining the Board in 2021 are: Yariv Yogev (Israel), Ferdousi Begum (Bangladesh), Peter Wang (Taiwan), Atziri Ramirez (Mexico), Lilian Gien (Canada), Lisa Rahangdale (USA), Priyankur Roy (India), and Goknur Topçu (Turkey).

Historically, women have been underrepresented in leadership positions in medical journals, including women's health journals.1 At IJGO we are determined to address this inequity, and with this in mind we were delighted to welcome a new Deputy Editor-in-Chief, Elizabeth Stringer, who brings several years of experience to the role, having served as an IJGO Regional Representative and Public Health Obstetric Consultant over the past 7 years.

We are also firmly committed to ensuring the scientific integrity of papers that we publish in IJGO, and to this end we plan to appoint a Research Integrity Editor early in 2021 – further news on this new role will follow shortly. The full IJGO Editorial Board listing can be found on the IJGO website.

2 ONLINE-ONLY PUBLISHING

At the time of writing, the 2021 United Nations Climate Change Conference (COP26) is taking place, and awareness about the threats posed by climate change continues to grow worldwide. IJGO and FIGO recognize the impact of the climate crisis on human reproduction and the fundamental risks it poses to the very continuation of our species – in response, we have issued a special article on climate change, women's health, and the role of obstetricians and gynaecologists in leadership,2 and we have opened a call for papers for a special issue on global warming and women's health, which will publish in 2022.

FIGO's commitment to supporting the Sustainable Development Goals has also led us to review some of our production processes in an effort to reduce our global material footprint. In response, we have taken the decision to phase out printing and distribution of physical IJGO issues, and from January 2022 the journal will publish online only.

3 SPECIAL ISSUES AND SUPPLEMENTS

2021 saw IJGO publish a number of important special issues, special sections, and supplements, including the FIGO Cancer Report 2021,3 a series of good practice papers from FIGO’s Preterm Birth Working Group,4 a special issue on Indigenous and First Nations women's health and wellbeing,5 and a supplement on best practice for second and third trimester risk stratification, monitoring and management of preeclampsia,6 among others. We plan to continue this momentum in 2022, with a call for papers already open for a special issue on Global Warming and Women's Health,7 and a call soon to open for an issue around Vaccinations and Women's Health. Any further proposals for special issues and supplements can be sent to the Head of Publishing, Amy Goggins: amy@figo.org.

4 IMPACT FACTOR

IJGO's 2020 journal impact factor, announced in June 2021, improved from 2.216 to 3.561 – our highest-ever impact factor. This increase has seen the journal rise through the OBGYN journal rankings to 20th place among 83 indexed journals. This achievement was made possible by the tireless dedication of our Editorial Board and the hard work of our authors and reviewers.

We are certain that the global influence of IJGO will only continue to grow. We are committed to developing the journal so that it remains a powerful advocate for women's health globally, and a key source of cutting-edge research and education.

REFERENCES

1Grinnell M, Higgins S, Yost K, et al. The proportion of male and female editors in women's health journals: a critical analysis and review of the sex gap. Int J Women's Dermatology. 2020; 6: 7- 12. 2Giudice LC, Llamas-Clark EF, DeNicola N, et al. Climate change, women's health, and the role of obstetricians and gynecologists in leadership. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2021; 155: 345- 356. doi:10.1002/ijgo.13958 3Kehoe S, Bhatla N. FIGO cancer report 2021. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2021; 155: 5- 6. doi:10.1002/ijgo.13882 4Jacobsson B, Simpson JL, Jacobsson B, et al. FIGO good practice recommendations for reducing preterm birth and improving child outcomes. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2021; 155: 1- 4. doi:10.1002/ijgo.13863 5Lawton B, Clarke MJ, Gibson-Helm M, Boyle JA. The lives of women and babies matter: a call for action in Indigenous and First Nations women’s health and wellbeing. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2021; 155: 167- 169. doi:10.1002/ijgo.13929 6Poon LC, Magee LA, Verlohren S, et al. A literature review and best practice advice for second and third trimester risk stratification, monitoring, and management of pre-eclampsia. Int J Gynecol Obstet. 2021; 154(Suppl. 1): 3- 31. doi:10.1002/ijgo.13763 7 IJGO. Call for papers: The impact of global warming on women's health. Accessed November 15, 2021. https://obgyn.onlinelibrary.wiley.com/pb-assets/Call%20for%20papers%20-%20The%20Impact%20of%20Global%20Warming%20on%20Womens%20Health%20Nov%202021-1636631733287.pdf