The New York Times Book Section a Boys' Club?

A Slate article (http://www.slate.com/id/2265910/) poses the question "Is the New York Times' book section really a boys' club?" ("Fact-Checking the Franzenfreude," 9/2/10). (Thanks, B., for drawing this article to my attention). The answer seems to be "yes." The article cites several studies showing that almost two-thirds of books reviewed in the NYT are by men. A related question discussed in the article is whether certain categories of books are gendered. For example, looking at genre fiction, the article notes that legal thrillers and science fiction, more often written by men, are more respected than "chick lit" and romance novels, almost always written by women. The writer Jennifer Weiner (whose recent novel, "Fly Away Home," I posted about on 8/11/10) wonders if Nick Hornby, Jonathan Tropper, and David Nicholls (whose novel "One Day" I posted about on 8/16/10) might be considered "chick lit" writers if they were women. I have read novels by all three of these writers, all of which could be classified as forms of domestic drama, so Weiner's point definitely resonates with me. This article is sobering, reminding us that although there are many women writing and publishing, this does not guarantee equal treatment of their work; it also reminds us that equal treatment is elusive, because bias is sometimes subtle, hard to pin down, and deeply rooted.