Welcome to DU!
The truly grassroots left-of-center political community where regular people, not algorithms, drive the discussions and set the standards.
Join the community:
Create a free account
Support DU (and get rid of ads!):
Become a Star Member
Latest Breaking News
General Discussion
The DU Lounge
All Forums
Issue Forums
Culture Forums
Alliance Forums
Region Forums
Support Forums
Help & Search
History of Feminism
Related: About this forumWhere Are All the Women of Wikipedia?
http://jezebel.com/5945850/where-are-all-the-women-of-wikipedia
Studies have shown that the Wikipedia editor gender gap women make up only 13 percent of the site's contributors, according to a 2011 New York Times survey, and even less according to the most recent Wikipedia Editor Survey directly influences the lack of notable women with well-researched biographies (or often even any mention, well-researched or otherwise) on the site.
...
"The Wikipedia idea struck a real chord in me because I read about a year ago that the typical person who writes entries for Wikipedia is a man," Uta Frith, a professor in cognitive development at UCL and a fellow of the Royal Society, told the BBC. "That really started alarm bells ringing because we don't think about it -who is doing all this work?" she said, wondering why it was so hard for most people to come up with just a "handful" of names of important women in tech. "Is that because there aren't any or because they're sort of invisible?" she said. "It's a catch-22 - if you can't find them easily in a place like Wikipedia, you won't know anything about them. You'll think they are not important."
Some famous women slated to receive Wikipedia reinforcement include Ada Lovelace, who helped create the "analytical machine" that's considered to be a foundation for modern computers,Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, a crystallographer who discovered the chemical structure of oil component benzene, and Dr Elsie Widdowson, who helped introduce vitamin supplements to food during World War II rationing.
...
Studies have shown that the Wikipedia editor gender gap women make up only 13 percent of the site's contributors, according to a 2011 New York Times survey, and even less according to the most recent Wikipedia Editor Survey directly influences the lack of notable women with well-researched biographies (or often even any mention, well-researched or otherwise) on the site.
...
"The Wikipedia idea struck a real chord in me because I read about a year ago that the typical person who writes entries for Wikipedia is a man," Uta Frith, a professor in cognitive development at UCL and a fellow of the Royal Society, told the BBC. "That really started alarm bells ringing because we don't think about it -who is doing all this work?" she said, wondering why it was so hard for most people to come up with just a "handful" of names of important women in tech. "Is that because there aren't any or because they're sort of invisible?" she said. "It's a catch-22 - if you can't find them easily in a place like Wikipedia, you won't know anything about them. You'll think they are not important."
Some famous women slated to receive Wikipedia reinforcement include Ada Lovelace, who helped create the "analytical machine" that's considered to be a foundation for modern computers,Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, a crystallographer who discovered the chemical structure of oil component benzene, and Dr Elsie Widdowson, who helped introduce vitamin supplements to food during World War II rationing.
...
I should learn to edit Wikipedia and join the effort to flesh out women's history there.
InfoView thread info, including edit history
TrashPut this thread in your Trash Can (My DU » Trash Can)
BookmarkAdd this thread to your Bookmarks (My DU » Bookmarks)
3 replies, 979 views
ShareGet links to this post and/or share on social media
AlertAlert this post for a rule violation
PowersThere are no powers you can use on this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
ReplyReply to this post
EditCannot edit other people's posts
Rec (0)
ReplyReply to this post
3 replies
= new reply since forum marked as read
Highlight:
NoneDon't highlight anything
5 newestHighlight 5 most recent replies
Where Are All the Women of Wikipedia? (Original Post)
redqueen
Sep 2012
OP
ismnotwasm
(41,975 posts)1. Now that is interesting
I have male friend who got involved in Wikipedia because he speaks Esperanto of all things. I could always ask him the finer points. I signed up and cleaned up some vandalism a couple of times but never was too involved, and now not at all
redqueen
(115,103 posts)2. I've only ever briefly considered it.
Time for me to go on ahead with it already and get started.
mopinko
(70,074 posts)3. me too.
i had a painting teacher who is regularly left out of stories about the movement that she was a part of. she also was a teacher at the art institute of chicago for many years, and nurtured many women who followed in her footsteps. course, who gets credit for that?