Mapping Research Trends on Gender Diversity, Work Stress, and Job Satisfaction in Higher Education: A Bibliometric Analysis

Background: Over the past three and a half decades, significant scholarly attention has been directed toward understanding gender diversity, work-related stress, and job satisfaction across various organizational contexts. Methods: The present study investigates global research trends on these themes within higher education institutions by conducting a bibliometric analysis of 2195 articles published between 1984 and 2024, retrieved from the Scopus database. Key performance indicators, including citations, h-index, author productivity, and co-citation analysis, were employed. Biblioshiny facilitated the bibliometric analysis and the visualization of the scientific landscape. Graphical representations included annual scientific production, most locally cited sources, Three-Field Plots, Lotka’s Law analysis, most relevant affiliations, corresponding authors’ country metrics (SCP/MCP), most prolific countries, and cumulative occurrences of authors’ keywords. Findings: The results reveal a notable upward trajectory in research output, characterized by an annual growth rate of 6.58%. The Journal of Applied Psychology emerged as the leading source in terms of publication volume within the studied domain. Among individual contributors, Cooper C.L. was identified as the most influential author, with a total of 328 citations. Additionally, several emerging research themes related to gender diversity and work-related stress were identified. This study offers valuable insights into the evolution and current state of research on gender diversity, work stress, and job satisfaction, thereby serving as a critical resource for scholars and practitioners interested in these intersecting fields.Recommendations: Promote inclusive policies, reduce academic stress, enhance job satisfaction, and foster global research collaboration in higher education institutions.