Wikimedia: Closing the Gender Gap

I did an interview for Wikimedia UK, the UK charity that supports and promotes Wikipedia and Wikimedia projects such as Wikimedia Commons.

The video is about ‘Closing the gender gap’ - a topic which has been tackled by many Wikipedia communities such as Wiki Women in Red and of course, by Dr. Jess Wade (she’s written over 800 wikipedia bios on underrepresented scientists!). Currently, only 18% of Wikipedia (English) biographies are about women - across all subject matter and disciplines! It is likely that the gender ratio of the volunteer editors and moderators contributes to this - remember that Wikipedia is not ‘controlled’ by anyone - it is a feedback cycle dictated by its volunteer community. Anyone can edit wikipedia so the more diverse the editors, the more likely we can balance this gender bias.

I’ve been editing Wikipedia for nearly 1.5years! I edit under the username Opto kitty and I have tried to create a new biography every month (give or take!)

My favourite contributions this year: Prof Lydia Sohn and Prof. Michelle Povinelli. Prof. Sohn has been one of my inspirations since I was a young PhD student and read ‘Plastic Fantastic’ about the Hendrik Schon science scandal. Prof. Povinelli works in my research field of photonic structures, resonators and nonlinear optics - even though I’ve never met her (but did present at the same conference once!) she is one of my academic role models - I remember her bringing her baby to SPIE conference and it was empowering to see a woman balance childcare and research.

Wikimedia UK is the national chapter for the global Wikimedia movement which supports Wikipedia and its sister sites. This video showcases the work of Wikimedia UK and the community of Wikimedians in the UK as they try to address gender bias and a lack of content on Wikipedia about women.

Wikimedia UK’s mission is to help people and organisations create and preserve open knowledge, and to help provide easy access for all. They support volunteer editors and contributors ('Wikimedians'), by working in partnership with cultural and educational institutions and hosting training sessions and editing events.

There are several ways to get involved in the charity's work. You can become a member for just £5 per year. You can volunteer and also make a donation