This exchange about who women are, the influence of religion on gender roles and participation may have some relevancy to Wikipedia’s gender gap. It certainly exposes some differences in knowledge and perhaps experience of what is going on in the field of women and religion and some cross cultural assumptions that women working in that field as well as in international development, NGO advocacy and politics are doing – and public opinion on religion through polling and other communications mechanisms and Wiki entries could make knowledge available. Miguel, I work extensively in both the US and Latin America and one of my major fields is women and religion, especially but not exclusively Catholicism ( I am leaving tomorrow for El Salvador to do a workshop there with women). The reality of what is going on in LAC and the US is so very different from what you describe. I wonder how Wikipedia articles and biographies in English and Spanish versions reflect the enormous shift in the way women who are “faithful” are changing religion itself?  You have sparked my interest in taking a look at which women leaders in religion have bios on Wikipedia, which movements and events are chronicled, how the bios of male religious leaders reflect their stances on women. For example, does the bio of bishop Samuel Ruiz, an advocate for indigenous people’s rights and broker between the Mexican government and the Zapatistas mention his threat to excommunicate legislators in Chiapas who voted for legal abortion in that state?  While I don’t think the gendergap list is a place for a forum on the substance of  women’s identity, life, etc and indeed some of what has been said here pushes my buttons and some of it amuses me, I think it may help illuminate what is missing on Wikipedia regarding events, ideologies, trends, thinking about women and the world and what, if women were convinced Wikipedia was an important place for that knowledge to be located, women would contribute to more relevant and up to date info being online .  

Frances Kissling, visiting scholar

Center for Bioethics, UPenn

202 368 3954