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Program/Research on gender gap in Wikipedia: What do we know so far?

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Research on gender gap in Wikipedia: What do we know so far?

Research on gender gap in Wikipedia: What do we know so far?
  • Video recording
Video
Notes
Format
  • Presentation
Keywords
  • Gender gap
  • Participation
  • Content
  • Research
  • Perception
  • Women
When and where
  • Sunday 22 July, 10:30
  • Duration: 25 minutes
  • Montreal

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Presenter(s)
Topic area
Relationship to theme

Participation & representation
Community health

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Abstract

Since the UNU-MERIT/WMF survey in 2008 that quantified Wikipedia's gender gap for the first time, discussions surrounding this problem has been one of the leading topics on Wikipedia research. Fast forward ten years, we know more about the gender problem, its magnitude, manifestations and repercussions. In this presentation, we intend to provide a comprehensive overview of the researches on gender gap in Wikipedia. We aim to answer the following questions:

1. What proportion of Wikipedia editors are women? 2. Why women do not edit Wikipedia? 3. Do women and men editors have different behavioural or editing patterns? 4. Are women portrayed differently from men on Wikipedia articles? 5. What is the public perception/reception of the gender gap on Wikipedia?

We shall try to find answers to these questions based on the findings from existing research. We will talk about both the participation gap and content gap, with evidence from past research to support our conclusions. We will go into the details of content gap, explaining about the coverage, structural, lexical and visibility bias in Wikipedia's articles.

Outcomes

After the session, we hope that the attendees will have a clearer understanding about the gender gap in Wikipedia. They will be equipped to watch for, and identify the subtle, and often inconspicuous ways by which gender biases shape Wikipedia’s community and content. They will be able to differentiate the facts from myths about women’s abilities to contribute, and understand more about women’s preferences within the Wikiverse.

Additional resources:

1. More information on research related to gender gap (Link, Wikimedia Commons)

2. Gender gap in Wikipedia's content (Link, Research Portal)

3. Participation gap in India (Link, WikiWorkshop 2018)


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