Define Gender Gap? Look Up Wikipedia’s Contributor List

New York Times ^ | January 30, 2011 | NOAM COHEN

[reaganaut1]

In 10 short years, Wikipedia has accomplished some remarkable goals. More than 3.5 million articles in English? Done. More than 250 languages? Sure.

But another number has proved to be an intractable obstacle for the online encyclopedia: surveys suggest that less than 15 percent of its hundreds of thousands of contributors are women.

About a year ago, the Wikimedia Foundation, the organization that runs Wikipedia, collaborated on a study of Wikipedia’s contributor base and discovered that it was barely 13 percent women; the average age of a contributor was in the mid-20s, according to the study by a joint center of the United Nations University and Maastricht University.

Sue Gardner, the executive director of the foundation, has set a goal to raise the share of female contributors to 25 percent by 2015, but she is running up against the traditions of the computer world and an obsessive fact-loving realm that is dominated by men and, some say, uncomfortable for women.

Her effort is not diversity for diversity’s sake, she says. “This is about wanting to ensure that the encyclopedia is as good as it could be,” Ms. Gardner said in an interview on Thursday. “The difference between Wikipedia and other editorially created products is that Wikipedians are not professionals, they are only asked to bring what they know.”

“Everyone brings their crumb of information to the table,” she said. “If they are not at the table, we don’t benefit from their crumb.”

With so many subjects represented — most everything has an article on Wikipedia — the gender disparity often shows up in terms of emphasis. A topic generally restricted to teenage girls, like friendship bracelets, can seem short at four paragraphs when compared with lengthy articles on something boys might favor, like, toy soldiers or baseball cards

[reaganaut1]

I don't see any evidence that in the article that male Wikipidia contributors are harassing female ones. So what is the problem?

[Junior_G]

Her effort is not diversity for diversity’s sake, she says.

That is a lie.

[ArrogantBustard]

“Everyone brings their crumb of information to the table,” she said. “If they are not at the table, we don’t benefit from their crumb.”

If they don't have anything worthwhile to bring, we derive negative benefit from their "crumb". Why should "we" reserve them a "place at the table"? They're worse than merely useless.

[freekitty]

I know a woman who says she is friends with the founder. She is the biggest liar and thief to come down the pike.

[Psycho_Bunny]

“Everyone brings their crumb of information to the table,” she said. “If they are not at the table, we don’t benefit from their crumb.”

I’m sorry but...this ladie’s in charge of something? Lololol

[bboop]

Well-stated.

What IS this tedious thing that everything has to be equal? It is exactly like little kids — “She got more cookies than I got.”

How about just dealing with it instead of whining?

[Mrs. Don-o]

People who want to contribute, contribute. People who don’t, don’t. How is this a problem?

[Zeppo]

A topic generally restricted to teenage girls, like friendship bracelets, can seem short at four paragraphs when compared with lengthy articles on something boys might favor, like, toy soldiers or baseball cards

What an inapt comparison. Some subjects deserve more content than others.

How did someone even manage to come up with four paragraphs about friendship bracelets, anyway?

[ConservativeDude]

“This is about wanting to ensure that the encyclopedia is as good as it could be,”

Then the number of female “contributors” is already too high and needs to be reduced, as a quality control measure.

[Plutarch]

Thank goodness Wikipedia doesn’t know what race the contributors are, as there may be more disparity there as well.

[ken21]

there should be a conservative alternative.

maybe contributions to heritage would fill that role.

[Bigg Red]

Her effort is not diversity for diversity’s sake, she says.

That is a lie.

&&&

Bingo!

[Bigg Red]

It is exactly like little kids — “She got more cookies than I got.”

***
Perfect analogy.

Women and men are not equal. Never will be. Generally, men are just more driven, more competitive than women. End of story.

[Bigg Red]

Wikipedia doesn’t know what race the contributors are, as there may be more disparity there as well.

&&&
That will be the next focus, to be sure.

[Cronos]

there is conservapedia

however I think Wikipedia is, as an overall site, generally impartial

The aim is data, not opinion.

if you think an article has an opinion, edit it out or raise a discussion -- I do that.