Wikipedia Launches #WikiHerStory Initiative to Celebrate Women’s History Month

The month of March is Women’s History Month and International Women’s Day also happens in March on the 8th of 2020. In honor both, the #WikiHerStory initiative aims to help close the gender gap on Wikipedia, the world’s largest online encyclopedia. Launched by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit that operates Wikipedia, #WikiHerStory brings together a collection of resources, events, and feature stories of the change-making women who make Wikipedia possible. It invites everyone to participate in adding content about women and their work to Wikipedia.

It’s a sad reality that women’s representation or lack thereof throughout history is a well-known issue, the Foundation is releasing research today outlining the problem. This data along with Wikipedia’s past research shows:

  • Fewer than 20 percent of editors on Wikipedia identify as women
  • More men than women have tried to edit Wikipedia at least once according to data from a YouGov survey spanning six regions and languages
  • The same survey showed that 27 percent of men had edited Wikipedia at least once, compared to only 21 percent of women

During the month of March, #WikiHerStory aims to address the gender gap conversation head-on by highlighting the amazing Wikipedia volunteer-led projects and the individuals tackling this challenge worldwide.

#WikiHerStory is an open invitation for anyone who is passionate about inclusion and gender equity. To learn more visit: https://wikimediafoundation.org/our-work/addressing-wikipedias-gender-gap/.

For more information about Women’s History Month please visit: https://womenshistorymonth.gov/.

If you want to learn more or participate in International Women’s Day events please visit: https://www.internationalwomensday.com/Events.

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Source: Wikipedia