I'm Slp1, an English Wikipedia editor since 2006 who lives in Montreal. I've resonated with a few of the introductions here. Like Sue Gardner, my work settings have always been predominately female. Like Sarah Stierch, my vision of Wikipedia includes facilitating the participation of older women (and men) who may lack the technical skills and confidence to participate. Like many others, I am interested to talk about solutions to improve the gender gap, because of the effect that it has on content.
My initial thoughts:
Based on discussions with other women, the technical aspects of wiki markup etc are challenging and off-putting for many. I'm sure I don't need to say that women are just as capable of learning it, but like it or not, especially for older women and women in more traditional cultural settings, men are more likely to have the background and confidence to try.The philosophy of wikipedia (consensus decision making, assuming good faith, neutrality) jive well with what I know of women's communication styles, and methods of solving disputes. In conflictual situations, however, these ideals often go out the window, and power-based decision making and interactions come to the fore. Entrenched editing from an ideological position, often accompanied by subtle or not so subtle bullying, is unpleasant for many, but perhaps especially for women, who studies suggest are typically prefer a collaborative approach to conflict resolution.
That's enough for now. I look forward to learning and helping come up with some good changes to the structural aspects of this project which seem to discourage participation.
Slp1
