As I wrote in response to one of Jane's threads on the Grants page that is relevant for both male and female editors: ''Teaching new editors it's ok to stand up to obvious negativity, which not reading too much negativity into neutral criticism is important. Some people will read "they attacked" or else "I'm incompetent" into relatively innocuous comments and react in some negative fashion or just stop editing. So psychological preparation for various contingencies helps. " 

Of course, the problem remains dealing those who do exert ownership, are POV pushers, are impatient with "newbies" - or just rankle whenever they see an edit by someone they assume is female.

Thinking about the issue today, may we just need to teach women to be bold and link to https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Don%27t_be_a_dick when guys hassle them.  I really should have done it myself dozens of times in the past.  Of course, if we could come up with a less hostile and more guilt-tripping essay to make the point, that would be much better.  (WP:WhatWouldYourMotherSay ???)

It would be nice just to have to tell people we are training them for collaborative editing. However, depending on what the topic area is, we also have to prepare them for war  - or at least nonviolent struggle :-). Unless, of course, women are happy to be shut out of all the high profile and conflict areas, which usually are related to covering (and thus often influencing)  domestic and foreign/war policy??  Places where women too often are shut out in the real word of journalism, think tanks and government already.

That's where I tend to edit and I have the battle scars to prove it (details redacted).  But the more women edit and opine and become admins and arbitrators, the easier it will be for women who want to edit in the high profile/conflict public policy areas to do so without being attacked or unfairly subjected to double standards and thus discouraged from editing.

CM


On 5/8/2014 11:31 AM, Megan Wacha wrote:
Hi All,

Over the past 2-3 years, I've organized a number of edit-a-thons here at Barnard College (an all women's college) in order to promote women in the content of Wikipedia's articles and in its community of editors. In my work as a librarian, I've come to believe that Wikipedia is one of the best sites for teaching information literacy skills, so I was absolutely thrilled when a faculty member contacted me about creating a Wikipedia assignment for her seminar on Ntozake Shange this spring. However, the administration was less than enthusiastic about this assignment and is watching it closely.

To address some of the points raised in this thread -- We strongly encourage students to begin editing in their sandbox. While, yes, some students may be shy about editing Wikipedia (in fact, most are), we made this decision out of respect to the existing community. Contributing to Wikipedia teaches students about writing from a neutral point of view, when and how to cite, how to find and use sources about underrepresented groups, thereby challenging the existing cannon, etc. etc.. It's an amazing experience for all, but even our most advanced students struggle with these skills. And no matter how many times we discuss these issues in a workshop, students don't fully engage with them until they start their assignment. Encouraging them to play in the sandbox not only allows them to move forward with confidence, but also allows those supporting them to identify any issues that may be of concern to the existing community. This creates a more positive experience for all.

If we are truly committed to encouraging women editors, it's imperative that we bring Wikipedia into the classroom. (Unsure? Check out Ester Hargittai and Aaron Shaw's talk at the Berkman Center or screenshots of the talk available via Wikid GRRLS.)

However, I'm very concerned that conflicts between students and the Wikipedia community will prevent us from offering future edit-a-thons or class assignments. As educators, we are charged with creating a safe space for students, and while I can help students navigate passive aggressive conversations on a talk page, I am unable to prevent students from experiencing the gender based hate speech that happens (I recently noticed an attack on my user page summarized as "Queen has cunt"). I don't really know what the answer is and, honestly, can't fully articulate my question. But I would greatly benefit from any resources on how to support students navigating these waters -- if they exist.

I've been lurking on this list for a while and haven't posted before, but I hope these thoughts are helpful.

Megan