10 years of helping close Wikipedia’s gender gap
This fall, we’re celebrating the 10th anniversary of the Wikipedia Student Program with a series of blog posts telling the story of the program in the United States and Canada. I was reflecting on how Wikipedia’s gender gap has changed over the past 10 years when I heard the news that Supreme Court Justice Ruth … Continued
Improve Wikipedia’s 2020 election-related articles
The November election is coming up in just over three months, and while the presidential race will dominate headlines, there are a lot of statewide and regional district races and ballot measures that will also appear on ballots. Informing citizens on the issues and candidates on their ballots in a neutral, fact-based way is critical … Continued
Why members of the Society of Family Planning are getting involved with Wikipedia
Wikipedia is the most popular internet health content, more than NIH, Web MD, Mayo Clinic, and other sources (according to a 2014 study). Doctors use it. Patients use it. Policy makers use it. Thus, the volunteers who curate Wikipedia’s content take the quality of medical articles very seriously. But keeping content accurate, complete, and … Continued
When we join hands to bring women to Wikipedia
Women are underrepresented on Wikipedia, and it’s a well-documented problem. I’ve spent the last 8 years working on Wikipedia, and the gender gap is the topic I most often see covered in the media (see examples here, here, and here). I certainly understand why. It’s devastating for most people to learn that the world’s most … Continued
One big way to amplify your knowledge and make a change in the world
When scientists share their rigorous research beyond their niche communities, they help restore the public’s trust in science. Wikipedia reaches people who are looking for reliable information, and Wiki Education is working to make sure academics, researchers, and scientists have the opportunity to reach those readers. This year, we did this by partnering with the … Continued
Building digital literacy capacity with UMass Lowell faculty
Women in Red at UMass Lowell is a one-year project to build digital literacy capacity in higher education and address the gender gap on campus and in Wikipedia. To kick off this project, 13 faculty at the University of Massachusetts Lowell will be accepted into Wiki Education’s synchronous Wiki Scholars course, meeting online once a … Continued
Early career scientists advancing the role of science in policy making
The 2020 election offers an opportunity for scientists to engage the public in thinking about how policy and science affect their daily lives. When voters search online to learn more about their candidates or ballot measures, they’ll inevitably end up reading about these topics on Wikipedia. 500 million readers come to Wikipedia each month to … Continued
How to improve Wikipedia’s coverage of women and marginalized American communities
Wikipedia, like much of history and historical scholarship, is missing information related to women and marginalized American communities. This weekend, Wiki Education is attending both the National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) and the American Studies Association (ASA) annual meetings in Atlanta to empower scholars to help us fill these content gaps. NWSA and ASA share missions to disseminate research … Continued
Partnering with the Deep Carbon Observatory to increase global understanding of Earth science
Wiki Education is thrilled to announce a new partnership with the Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) Engagement Team. The Deep Carbon Observatory (DCO) is a global community of more than 1,000 scientists on a ten-year quest to understand the quantities, movements, forms, and origins of carbon inside Earth. They want to encourage their community to participate … Continued
Producing knowledge through an intersectional lens
Intersectionality is Kimberlé Williams Crenshaw’s theory that attempts to understand how institutions shape our social statuses and experiences, and it’s central to academic disciplines like women’s studies. National Women’s Studies Association (NWSA) Wikipedia Fellow Dr. Jenn Brandt worked this spring to improve the women’s studies Wikipedia article and define the discipline for the broader public. She summarized it as “an academic … Continued