Franklin Women
Would you believe that the 5th most visited website in the world, Wikipedia, has a serious gender bias? Only 17% of the people profiled on Wikipedia are women. Not only does this mean that many talented women (and their work) are not getting the recognition they deserve, but it also critically skews perceptions about the contributions that women make to many different endeavours. This is no doubt influenced by the fact that only 8-16% of the people who actively contribute content to Wikipedia identify as women.
Franklin Women joined with Wikimedia Australia on Thursday 25th July 2019 to make the internet just that little bit better. Their aim was to increase the visibility on Wikipedia of women who have made important contributions to the health and medical research sector, as well as increase the number of women who have the skills to become Wikipedia editors.
Attended by 30 editors, together they learnt to edit Wikipedia and created 21 new articles!
Events
Media
- 25 July 2019 Most Wikipedia profiles are about men - these women in Australia are hoping to change that SBS News video article by Cassandra Bain about the Franklin Women Edit-a-thon at the University of Sydney
- 25 July 2019 Boosting visibility of women in STEMM, one Wiki entry at a time Sydney Morning Herald article by Wendy Tuohy
- 25 July 2019 Combatting gender bias on Wikipedia ABC Radio RN Drive presented by Patricia Karvelas with Guest: Dr Sarah Frost
- 26 July 2019 Australian researchers join global movement to improve visibility of women in STEM ABC feature article by Brooke Wylie and Olivia Willis on the Franklin Women's Edit-a-thon at the University of Sydney
- 24 August 2019 Wikipedia Is Sexist, But We're Trying To Fix It 10 Daily article by Melina Georgousakis on the Franklin
Reports
- 5 Years of Franklin Women Impact Report 'Boosting visibility of Australia’s best scientists', a case study about the 2019 Wikipedia edit-a-thon is featured on page 11 of this 2020 impact report.