Even though it’s a site that now features the incredible number of over 3.5 million articles written in the English language, Wikipedia’s female writers only make up just 13% of the overall contributors. But this past weekend, the international Art+Feminism Wikipedia Edit-a-thon went down across the globe where around 600 participants in 31 venues collectively confronted the persistent issue of Wikipedia’s gendered bias.
The inclusion of women as contributors and subjects of the ever influential online encyclopedia is a total necessity. And the event was successful at not only introducing close to 100 new entries, but also enhancing 80 pre-existing posts.
While the new entries vary in scope, grammar and quality of content, the fact that women have come together, globally and locally, and contributed to writing women into a digital history is a really significant thing.
Sounds like strengthening Wikipedia’s lady content with the inclusion of women in the arts can be just the beginning. Because the site makes it possible for anyone to be able to adjust a post that is visibly wrong or create a valuable post for something that is obviously missing, maybe in the future we will see similar events being held that aim to address the lack of wiki-visible women in other areas as well, like the sciences or politics.
If you’re interested in being a participant in the next women in the arts edit-a-thon, it is scheduled to take place on March 30. Also check this out, its the full list of artists, cultural figures and movements that were added to Wikipedia during this Saturday’s Art+Feminism campaign.
thanks to ARTnews and The Daily Beast
