what’s up with wikipedia?

I recently read in the New York Times that women are not contributing to Wikipedia as much as men. ?áAnyone can contribute and yet approximately only 13% of the contributors are women!

What does this tell us? ?áIt reflects who has time and interest in writing for Wikipedia. ?áIt shows us who is comfortable with the process of adding to Wikipedia. ?áIt also shows us who sees themselves as an authority capable of writing on a particular topic. ?áIt tells us what women are not doing in this public forum.

I can tell you that this is a little shocking for me to read. ?áAre not the universities at present populated with more female students than male students? ?áIt’s clear that women are increasing their status as public authorities. Why are women not, then, sources of authority on Wikipedia?

So, here’s something to add to the to-do list. ?áContribute something to Wikipedia.

Tammy Schmidt, Montreal

Related Articles

• Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List (nytimes.com)
• Why Wikipedia’s editors are mostly male (telegraph.co.uk)
• Wikipedia seeks women writers (telegraph.co.uk)