Wikipedia has a notable woman problem -- but one group of women is determined to start fixing it.
Earlier this month, Wikipedia cofounder Jimmy Wales revealed than about 87 percent of Wikipedia editors are men. As a result the site sometimes overlooks notable women, specifically those who have contributed to the science and technology fields.
Here's where women's group FemTechNet has decided to step in. The online network is organizing a program called "Storming Wikipedia," a call for women to edit the site and add important female voices and stories.
According to Inside Higher Education, students participating in FemTechNet's online course "Feminism and Technology" will be asked to contribute to Wikipedia's pages:
Students will be given lists of women who have played key roles in science and technology, and will study where they are represented (or ignored) in Wikipedia, and draft entries or entry additions to increase the representation of women in discussions of technology.
Previous Wikipedia edit-a-thons focusing on female scientists, such as one organized on Ada Lovelace Day in 2012, have made a significant difference in the number of women represented on the site -- over fifty entries were created or expanded at a London Women in Science event organized by Wikimedia UK.
Here's to more good work.
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