DYK is pretty dysfunctional behind the scenes so I don't think there's any hope of changing DYK processes to address this issue.  What can be done is to encourage individual WikiProjects addressing the gender gap to include submitting new and improved articles to DYK as a part of their regular process of article improvement.   It's very easy to get a good article onto DYK once it is submitted there. 

On Wed, Jul 16, 2014 at 11:24 PM, Rosiestep Wiki <rosiestep.wiki@gmail.com> wrote:

I've noticed this for years -- fewer women's biographies vs. men's in an average week at the DYK section of the main page. Maybe I've noticed this because I'm a highly prolific contributor to DYK. But I've wondered how many reader eyeballs land on the main page and notice the same thing?

Some statistics here:

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:Recent_additions

Annually, there's a preponderance of women's biographies in March (Women's History Month). And during the rest of the year, there's the occasional set (6-7 "hooks") or occasional day (2-3 sets) where the majority of the biographies are regarding women. But it's an uncommon occurrence over the course of a week. The reason seems simple:  fewer women's biographies are being nominated by editors, so fewer are promoted, and fewer appear at DYK. It almost goes without saying that fewer women's biographies are created/expanded compared to men's but it's actually important to address this, as IMO, it's the crux of the problem. I am not suggesting and would not support setting limits on the number of men's biographies which appear at DYK. Instead, I'd like to believe that issue/problem recognition is the first step before we brainstorm some objectives, develop workplans (i.e. monthly edit-a-thons anyone?), and measure outcomes. 

I'm considering creating a proposal and applying for a grant to work on this "percentage issue". Feedback?

-Rosie

https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Rosiestep

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