Hi all,
In July, we hosted a small gathering in San Francisco to consider the current state of the gender gap and brainstorm some initiatives that community and staff (WMF grantmakers, etc) might work on together in the coming year. After a shamefully long time,[1] notes from this meeting are finally up on meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013
Please join inhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#August_2013_and_beyond, improve, share your thoughts about what's there or add new ideashttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Brainstorm_of_ideasto the brainstorm list! If people are interested, we might build on this more together both on meta and at Diversity Conference in Berlin next month.[2]
I'm also planning to host an IdeaLab session at Diversity Conference to work together on action plans for diversity-focused projects. If you aren't able to attend in person, perhaps you'd want to write up your favorite idea in the IdeaLab instead, to spark some more collaborations?
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab
Warm regards, Siko
[1] Yes, it really did take me 3 months to finish removing an under-construction template and decide some things are just going to stay messy, sigh. [2] Reminder to register by Oct 20th, I understand the program schedule will be published later this week: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Diversity_Conference
Hello everyone,
Last month, I had put together a work plan for Gender gap activities in India: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_India_work_plan
I would greatly appreciate it if you could add your suggestions, feedback and comments to the work plan or post them here. The strategy shared by Siko Bouterse is full of ideas I could incorporate into the work plan, and it addresses some of the challenges I have been thinking long and hard about. I am delighted to see that a Gender gap event in Indiahttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Short_Term_Strategy_.2F_Next_Stepscould be in the offing. :)
Regards, Rohini -- Chairperson (Special Interest Group), Gender gap, Wikimedia Chapter (India)
On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 2:09 AM, Siko Bouterse sbouterse@wikimedia.orgwrote:
Hi all,
In July, we hosted a small gathering in San Francisco to consider the current state of the gender gap and brainstorm some initiatives that community and staff (WMF grantmakers, etc) might work on together in the coming year. After a shamefully long time,[1] notes from this meeting are finally up on meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013
Please join inhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#August_2013_and_beyond, improve, share your thoughts about what's there or add new ideashttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Brainstorm_of_ideasto the brainstorm list! If people are interested, we might build on this more together both on meta and at Diversity Conference in Berlin next month.[2]
I'm also planning to host an IdeaLab session at Diversity Conference to work together on action plans for diversity-focused projects. If you aren't able to attend in person, perhaps you'd want to write up your favorite idea in the IdeaLab instead, to spark some more collaborations?
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab
Warm regards, Siko
[1] Yes, it really did take me 3 months to finish removing an under-construction template and decide some things are just going to stay messy, sigh. [2] Reminder to register by Oct 20th, I understand the program schedule will be published later this week: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Diversity_Conference
-- Siko Bouterse Head of Individual Grants Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. sbouterse@wikimedia.org
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. * *Donate https://donate.wikimedia.org or click the "edit" button today, and help us make it a reality!*
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
This might be a dumb question, but are there any ongoing GenderGap related efforts right now outside of content projects (i.e. other than on a Wikipedia etc.)? Is there a thematic organization focused on it, or any significant research or outreach grants or programs? It seems like an obvious candidate for an affiliate group, but I don't recall reading about one.
WikiWomen's Collaborative aims to improve contributions of women on any project, but, we mainly focus on Wikipedia and Commons right now since that's where I mainly contribute and I'm still the primary person who does the social media for the program.
I did bounce around the idea of starting a affiliate or usergroup for WWC, but, my capacity won't allow it anytime soon.
-Sarah
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 12:22 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
This might be a dumb question, but are there any ongoing GenderGap related efforts right now outside of content projects (i.e. other than on a Wikipedia etc.)? Is there a thematic organization focused on it, or any significant research or outreach grants or programs? It seems like an obvious candidate for an affiliate group, but I don't recall reading about one.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
It just seems like there is a lot of sort of low-hanging fruit opportunity that the WMF could take advantage of if its serious about really addressing the issue. Why not hire an activist of sorts to be either a WMF employee or a grant funded contractor, who can develop initiatives, speak at conferences and to media outlets, etc.? Generate attention by participating in general tech communities and tech/education conferences open to gender panels and speakers, solicit reporting from news outlets and blogs, literally even place advertised invitations to edit in venues with high visibility to women.
That's the thing, imho, that's been missing from this list and from the WMF since the gender gap was identified as a serious (data supported) problem: big picture activism and effort. One thing we've realized as a community is that a lot of the small-bore outreach efforts don't work well, so why not devote more resources to large-bore recruitment? I'm not saying nothing has been done - indeed, Sarah and Sue and others have put a ton of effort out, but it appears to me that the WMF could be a lot more dedicated to it than it has been.
Nathan, you mentioned hiring a contractor or a staff member. I was a fellow last year, and I did all of that (speaking at conference, media outlets, generate initiatives, etc.) but the focus of WMF changed so my contract wasn't extended and a position was not formed. And some of us - Adrianne, Netha, myself - spend a large portion of our volunteer time devoted to this. I've stopped sending press coverage to this mailing list - but, we just got done with a big push for Ada Lovelace Day events, which was covered in everything from the BBC to Al Jazeera. I also speak at conferences, as do many other women on this list. We just don't post it here.
WMF also pulled out of GLAM-Wiki work - so I see it as this: a chance for the community to lead the fight. And get money as needed from WMF as possible. That's what the GLAM-wiki community has done. And that's sort of what we have to do, and find specific people at WMF who can provide support as needed (Siko, Anasuya, me, etc) and find money as needed (WMF has it) and organize a bit more and get going.
that's what WWC was formed for - a grass roots effort inspired by the women's movements of the past (and kinda present but not really these days), it's just been next to impossible to find people to take WWC to the next level (a user group).
But, it's frustrating as hell, for me, at least.
-Sarah
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 12:31 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
It just seems like there is a lot of sort of low-hanging fruit opportunity that the WMF could take advantage of if its serious about really addressing the issue. Why not hire an activist of sorts to be either a WMF employee or a grant funded contractor, who can develop initiatives, speak at conferences and to media outlets, etc.? Generate attention by participating in general tech communities and tech/education conferences open to gender panels and speakers, solicit reporting from news outlets and blogs, literally even place advertised invitations to edit in venues with high visibility to women.
That's the thing, imho, that's been missing from this list and from the WMF since the gender gap was identified as a serious (data supported) problem: big picture activism and effort. One thing we've realized as a community is that a lot of the small-bore outreach efforts don't work well, so why not devote more resources to large-bore recruitment? I'm not saying nothing has been done - indeed, Sarah and Sue and others have put a ton of effort out, but it appears to me that the WMF could be a lot more dedicated to it than it has been.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Ah, I use this as my main source of gender gap news, so maybe I just don't know what's going on because it's not being reported here. (I did read here about Ada Lovelace events, and I saw it mentioned in at least one media outlet, but not more than that).
But I'm confused as to why the WMF would move away from efforts to address the gender gap. I think it's great that you and others are devoting your free time and resources to this, but wouldn't it be more effective to allow someone to devote an experts full professional time to it? That person could also be a liaison to any usergroup or affiliate that gets set up, and an advocate within the WMF to allocate resources with the gender gap in mind.
One thing that's been discussed is the environmental challenge that Wikimedia projects present which particularly effect women, so why not spend some time developing sustained protected channels for collaboratively generating content to be submitted? Polished submissions are far less likely to be deleted or trashed, and it might mitigate a lot of the problems with difficult personalities. That's just spitballing, I'm sure most subscribers to this list could up with many more and better ideas for really potentially meaningful impact.
Fundamentally, the WMF has a ton of money and has dedicated a huge amount of effort and infrastructure to giving it away. Sue has publicly argued that a lot of that money isn't necessarily being well spent, so when there are such clear opportunities to address what really is a core flaw for Wikimedia projects... why not push funding, resources and brains towards them? I'd love to see a "Wikimedia Campaign" to close the gender gap that has the status of a strategic initiative. It seems particularly appropriate for something like that to form one small, lasting part of Sue's legacy as ED.
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
One of my recent ideas was to make a skill and experience list of WMF staff and community volunteers who want to time permitting work on the issue.
I'm going to be in San Francisco in November for the FDC meeting and plan to be in touch with WMF staff (including Sarah if she's available) to figure out the best way to harness WMF staff energy and enthusiasm. We can start the list on site so the community members can add themselves. And at the diversity conference we can also gather people's skills.
I'll put something on meta tomorrow if no one else beats me to it.
Sydney
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 16, 2013, at 15:40, Sarah Stierch sarah.stierch@gmail.com wrote:
Nathan, you mentioned hiring a contractor or a staff member. I was a fellow last year, and I did all of that (speaking at conference, media outlets, generate initiatives, etc.) but the focus of WMF changed so my contract wasn't extended and a position was not formed. And some of us - Adrianne, Netha, myself - spend a large portion of our volunteer time devoted to this. I've stopped sending press coverage to this mailing list - but, we just got done with a big push for Ada Lovelace Day events, which was covered in everything from the BBC to Al Jazeera. I also speak at conferences, as do many other women on this list. We just don't post it here.
WMF also pulled out of GLAM-Wiki work - so I see it as this: a chance for the community to lead the fight. And get money as needed from WMF as possible. That's what the GLAM-wiki community has done. And that's sort of what we have to do, and find specific people at WMF who can provide support as needed (Siko, Anasuya, me, etc) and find money as needed (WMF has it) and organize a bit more and get going.
that's what WWC was formed for - a grass roots effort inspired by the women's movements of the past (and kinda present but not really these days), it's just been next to impossible to find people to take WWC to the next level (a user group).
But, it's frustrating as hell, for me, at least.
-Sarah
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 12:31 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
It just seems like there is a lot of sort of low-hanging fruit opportunity that the WMF could take advantage of if its serious about really addressing the issue. Why not hire an activist of sorts to be either a WMF employee or a grant funded contractor, who can develop initiatives, speak at conferences and to media outlets, etc.? Generate attention by participating in general tech communities and tech/education conferences open to gender panels and speakers, solicit reporting from news outlets and blogs, literally even place advertised invitations to edit in venues with high visibility to women.
That's the thing, imho, that's been missing from this list and from the WMF since the gender gap was identified as a serious (data supported) problem: big picture activism and effort. One thing we've realized as a community is that a lot of the small-bore outreach efforts don't work well, so why not devote more resources to large-bore recruitment? I'm not saying nothing has been done - indeed, Sarah and Sue and others have put a ton of effort out, but it appears to me that the WMF could be a lot more dedicated to it than it has been.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
--
Sarah Stierch Museumist, open culture advocate, and Wikimedian www.sarahstierch.com _______________________________________________ Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Hi ,
Today I began the discussion about establishing a Wikimedia Foundation affiliated user group around the topic of addressing the gender gap in Wikimedia Foundation projects. I see this as being an international organization where people from all over the world can work together on this common cause.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Establishing_a...
The threshold for being recognized is pretty low., only 3 people, but I would not want to go for affiliation with less than 10 interested people. And I hope we can attract many many more.
I plan to discuss this in Berlin at the Diversity Conference but want to make it clear that the organization is open to every one interested in actively working on the topic. So please spread the word.
I put a sign up space in the thread so we can capture the initial interest that came out of this thread.
One of the key discussion will be the name of the group. So everyone put their thinking caps on so we can make this decision within the next month of so.
Sydney Poore
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take
the
lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing
to
assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Hey, this is the first time I've actually added anything to discussion on this list :)
I agree that trying to address the issue by hiring one or two activists taking on responsiblity for talking about it/acting on it wouldn't address what I consider to be the big problem of "environmental challenges" or systemic bias, as having people focused specifically on the issue can mean that people who don't care or inadvertently contribute to the problem can continue to dismiss it as a niche issue. In my experience I find it more effective to say, for example, that I think open access is really important and I will contribute to open access projects, but if people behave in ways that contribute to systemic bias, I will not contribute further as I prefer to focus my energies elsewhere.
As research about women in engineering shows, benefits-focused recruitment drives won't work if women (or other underrepresented peoples in Wikipedia) get lost along a leaky pipeline, when after acquiring the technical skills to contribute, they come to feel that their contributions aren't valued and they are better off focusing energies elsewhere. I'm working in international development - part of that often involves disaggregating data to see which projects are involving people of diverse genders and ages and ethnicities for example, and which aren't, and refocusing funding to value groups that demonstrate the ability to be inclusive, or that specifically engage people who are often left out in genuine decision-making and empowerment - rather than pushing them to work for little return. Perhaps one strategy is to look at the composition of existing WMF-affiliated user groups, to see what gaps exist in what WMF is endorsing (and giving grants for. I think it would useful to have an activist involved in every single user group, contributing there and raising awareness of issues among other editors, but that's a burden on each of those activists to lead change in those groups. I wouldn't be comfortable joining a group just focused on this issue, for fear of harassment or people being more subtly difficult, knowing I'm focusing energies in this area that they might be opposed to - I'd be more comfortable being part of a project in which women editors contribute to other projects and that WMF works to ensure their contributions are valued and supported, recognizing that systemic bias means value and support is less likely to happen naturally within the system.
Perhaps they're not mutually exclusive though. I'm sharing this hoping it helps to explain why some people, who are activists in this area, aren't necessarily active in the way proposed right now :)
Cheers, Cobi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Alixos
On Oct 18, 2556 BE, at 6:29 AM, Sydney Poore wrote:
Hi ,
Today I began the discussion about establishing a Wikimedia Foundation affiliated user group around the topic of addressing the gender gap in Wikimedia Foundation projects. I see this as being an international organization where people from all over the world can work together on this common cause.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Establishing_a...
The threshold for being recognized is pretty low., only 3 people, but I would not want to go for affiliation with less than 10 interested people. And I hope we can attract many many more.
I plan to discuss this in Berlin at the Diversity Conference but want to make it clear that the organization is open to every one interested in actively working on the topic. So please spread the word.
I put a sign up space in the thread so we can capture the initial interest that came out of this thread.
One of the key discussion will be the name of the group. So everyone put their thinking caps on so we can make this decision within the next month of so.
Sydney Poore
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote: On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
I've been largely lurking on this list due to lack of time to contribute to the discussion and the fact I'm not really a very experienced Wikipedia contributor, but the reason I joined this list is because I very much want to help solve the Wikipedia gender gap problem. I think it's incredibly important and that most people working in digital media have no clue how significant this is. The focus of my work is how digital media affects our lives and our world, and with more people online every day and Wikipedia as the world's online encyclopedia, I think the gender imbalance can only affect digital culture long-term in a negative way.
What I envision is a coalition of like-minded organizations working together on a campaign to build awareness, educate people on the roots of the problem, recruit & train new contributors. I work with a lot of digital media campaigners for women's organizations, with women in tech organizations, and with organizations supporting women in media - and digital media. I also have connections at more traditional feminist organizations. I strongly believe these organizations will help if they can first become aware themselves. Most are just not thinking about how digital media and wikipedia affects gender bias online and in general. But there are literally a few hundred online activists / digital strategists at various organizations who I know would care about this if they are just approached the right way to help.
So I encourage everyone here to think big and outside the box. I founded the Center for Technology, Media & Society with the purpose of taking on issues that have slipped under the radar of other organizations because they're interdisciplinary. This is one of the core areas I want to work on. We don't have c3 status yet, we haven't fundraised. I had to take a break to write a book and just finished the writing part of the process, but I had a pilot project set up with a list of worthy women who should have sites but don't, and I signed up some women willing to try contributing, but we got stuck at the training part because of time and general learning curve. Also, I didn't want to reinvent the wheel on anything the Wikimedia Foundation was doing.
I really want to be a part of this conversation long-term because I think if we do this right, we could make a huge difference. I have a background in national digital campaigns, so my ideas come from that world. A few ideas I had: launching an international wikipedia training week for women &/or having a wikipedia editing week, a regular monthly wikiwomen day where we blast social networks & engage women to add & edit pages, putting together some clever online memes to build awareness, Tweetups, FB buttons, a blog carnival, building a campaign specific website to explain the problem, solutions, recruit participants, etc... especially reaching out to young women in tech. I spoke at a conference of young women in computing in the midwest yesterday and that kind of audience I think would be perfect for recruiting new Wikipedia women contributors.
The one other reason I've been treading cautiously is because I believe that anything done to improve Wikipedia's content should ideally be done with some buy-in from the community, rather than criticizing it. I could see some women's organizations getting really angry once they understand the problem, and blaming men for sexism, when the problem, as all of us on this list know, is much more complex and not an outright issue like that. I want to make sure they are invited in as partners and that they are being constructive and proactive. There are always ways to use humor to bridge the gap when working on messaging around the issue, but we really need everyone on board.
I didn't mean to write this much... it's late where I am. I hope this provides some helpful additional thoughts and ideas. I really want to help with this. I think ideally it would be run from within the Wikimedia organization, partnering with all the others I mentioned, so I think the user group sounds like a good plan if that's the right operational entity (not being fully versed in the Wikimedia org structure, I'm deferring to others here), but if that can't be done, for whatever reason, I'd be happy to find the an organization that would be a good fit for that role, or we could take it on in our organization if we have enough support from others (since we're scrappy with zero resources at the moment).
Please keep me in the loop and let me know how I can help best, but count me in for whatever group, organization or coalition.
- Sarah Granger
On Oct 20, 2013, at 11:48 PM, Cobi cobi@aippnet.org wrote:
Hey, this is the first time I've actually added anything to discussion on this list :)
I agree that trying to address the issue by hiring one or two activists taking on responsiblity for talking about it/acting on it wouldn't address what I consider to be the big problem of "environmental challenges" or systemic bias, as having people focused specifically on the issue can mean that people who don't care or inadvertently contribute to the problem can continue to dismiss it as a niche issue. In my experience I find it more effective to say, for example, that I think open access is really important and I will contribute to open access projects, but if people behave in ways that contribute to systemic bias, I will not contribute further as I prefer to focus my energies elsewhere.
As research about women in engineering shows, benefits-focused recruitment drives won't work if women (or other underrepresented peoples in Wikipedia) get lost along a leaky pipeline, when after acquiring the technical skills to contribute, they come to feel that their contributions aren't valued and they are better off focusing energies elsewhere. I'm working in international development - part of that often involves disaggregating data to see which projects are involving people of diverse genders and ages and ethnicities for example, and which aren't, and refocusing funding to value groups that demonstrate the ability to be inclusive, or that specifically engage people who are often left out in genuine decision-making and empowerment - rather than pushing them to work for little return. Perhaps one strategy is to look at the composition of existing WMF-affiliated user groups, to see what gaps exist in what WMF is endorsing (and giving grants for. I think it would useful to have an activist involved in every single user group, contributing there and raising awareness of issues among other editors, but that's a burden on each of those activists to lead change in those groups. I wouldn't be comfortable joining a group just focused on this issue, for fear of harassment or people being more subtly difficult, knowing I'm focusing energies in this area that they might be opposed to - I'd be more comfortable being part of a project in which women editors contribute to other projects and that WMF works to ensure their contributions are valued and supported, recognizing that systemic bias means value and support is less likely to happen naturally within the system.
Perhaps they're not mutually exclusive though. I'm sharing this hoping it helps to explain why some people, who are activists in this area, aren't necessarily active in the way proposed right now :)
Cheers, Cobi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Alixos
On Oct 18, 2556 BE, at 6:29 AM, Sydney Poore wrote:
Hi ,
Today I began the discussion about establishing a Wikimedia Foundation affiliated user group around the topic of addressing the gender gap in Wikimedia Foundation projects. I see this as being an international organization where people from all over the world can work together on this common cause.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Establishing_a...
The threshold for being recognized is pretty low., only 3 people, but I would not want to go for affiliation with less than 10 interested people. And I hope we can attract many many more.
I plan to discuss this in Berlin at the Diversity Conference but want to make it clear that the organization is open to every one interested in actively working on the topic. So please spread the word.
I put a sign up space in the thread so we can capture the initial interest that came out of this thread.
One of the key discussion will be the name of the group. So everyone put their thinking caps on so we can make this decision within the next month of so.
Sydney Poore
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Sarah, welcome to the discussion and thank you for the work that you are already doing.
I'm very interested in hearing more about your organizations and your ideas.
I agree that we need to think big!
The situation is ripe to form an international organization that brings together existing organizations and active Wikimedia editors in a coalition that coordinates a big campaign.
The user group is an easy first step to gain affiliation with the WMF because it doesn't require formal legal registration. Once we get the ball rolling, a WMF affiliated thematic organization might better serve the needs the group. But for the initial organizing stage, the user group should work fine.
Regards,
Sydney Poore Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 21, 2013, at 2:41, Sarah Granger sarah@sarahgranger.com wrote:
I've been largely lurking on this list due to lack of time to contribute to the discussion and the fact I'm not really a very experienced Wikipedia contributor, but the reason I joined this list is because I very much want to help solve the Wikipedia gender gap problem. I think it's incredibly important and that most people working in digital media have no clue how significant this is. The focus of my work is how digital media affects our lives and our world, and with more people online every day and Wikipedia as the world's online encyclopedia, I think the gender imbalance can only affect digital culture long-term in a negative way.
What I envision is a coalition of like-minded organizations working together on a campaign to build awareness, educate people on the roots of the problem, recruit & train new contributors. I work with a lot of digital media campaigners for women's organizations, with women in tech organizations, and with organizations supporting women in media - and digital media. I also have connections at more traditional feminist organizations. I strongly believe these organizations will help if they can first become aware themselves. Most are just not thinking about how digital media and wikipedia affects gender bias online and in general. But there are literally a few hundred online activists / digital strategists at various organizations who I know would care about this if they are just approached the right way to help.
So I encourage everyone here to think big and outside the box. I founded the Center for Technology, Media & Society with the purpose of taking on issues that have slipped under the radar of other organizations because they're interdisciplinary. This is one of the core areas I want to work on. We don't have c3 status yet, we haven't fundraised. I had to take a break to write a book and just finished the writing part of the process, but I had a pilot project set up with a list of worthy women who should have sites but don't, and I signed up some women willing to try contributing, but we got stuck at the training part because of time and general learning curve. Also, I didn't want to reinvent the wheel on anything the Wikimedia Foundation was doing.
I really want to be a part of this conversation long-term because I think if we do this right, we could make a huge difference. I have a background in national digital campaigns, so my ideas come from that world. A few ideas I had: launching an international wikipedia training week for women &/or having a wikipedia editing week, a regular monthly wikiwomen day where we blast social networks & engage women to add & edit pages, putting together some clever online memes to build awareness, Tweetups, FB buttons, a blog carnival, building a campaign specific website to explain the problem, solutions, recruit participants, etc... especially reaching out to young women in tech. I spoke at a conference of young women in computing in the midwest yesterday and that kind of audience I think would be perfect for recruiting new Wikipedia women contributors.
The one other reason I've been treading cautiously is because I believe that anything done to improve Wikipedia's content should ideally be done with some buy-in from the community, rather than criticizing it. I could see some women's organizations getting really angry once they understand the problem, and blaming men for sexism, when the problem, as all of us on this list know, is much more complex and not an outright issue like that. I want to make sure they are invited in as partners and that they are being constructive and proactive. There are always ways to use humor to bridge the gap when working on messaging around the issue, but we really need everyone on board.
I didn't mean to write this much... it's late where I am. I hope this provides some helpful additional thoughts and ideas. I really want to help with this. I think ideally it would be run from within the Wikimedia organization, partnering with all the others I mentioned, so I think the user group sounds like a good plan if that's the right operational entity (not being fully versed in the Wikimedia org structure, I'm deferring to others here), but if that can't be done, for whatever reason, I'd be happy to find the an organization that would be a good fit for that role, or we could take it on in our organization if we have enough support from others (since we're scrappy with zero resources at the moment).
Please keep me in the loop and let me know how I can help best, but count me in for whatever group, organization or coalition.
- Sarah Granger
On Oct 20, 2013, at 11:48 PM, Cobi cobi@aippnet.org wrote:
Hey, this is the first time I've actually added anything to discussion on this list :)
I agree that trying to address the issue by hiring one or two activists taking on responsiblity for talking about it/acting on it wouldn't address what I consider to be the big problem of "environmental challenges" or systemic bias, as having people focused specifically on the issue can mean that people who don't care or inadvertently contribute to the problem can continue to dismiss it as a niche issue. In my experience I find it more effective to say, for example, that I think open access is really important and I will contribute to open access projects, but if people behave in ways that contribute to systemic bias, I will not contribute further as I prefer to focus my energies elsewhere.
As research about women in engineering shows, benefits-focused recruitment drives won't work if women (or other underrepresented peoples in Wikipedia) get lost along a leaky pipeline, when after acquiring the technical skills to contribute, they come to feel that their contributions aren't valued and they are better off focusing energies elsewhere. I'm working in international development - part of that often involves disaggregating data to see which projects are involving people of diverse genders and ages and ethnicities for example, and which aren't, and refocusing funding to value groups that demonstrate the ability to be inclusive, or that specifically engage people who are often left out in genuine decision-making and empowerment - rather than pushing them to work for little return. Perhaps one strategy is to look at the composition of existing WMF-affiliated user groups, to see what gaps exist in what WMF is endorsing (and giving grants for. I think it would useful to have an activist involved in every single user group, contributing there and raising awareness of issues among other editors, but that's a burden on each of those activists to lead change in those groups. I wouldn't be comfortable joining a group just focused on this issue, for fear of harassment or people being more subtly difficult, knowing I'm focusing energies in this area that they might be opposed to - I'd be more comfortable being part of a project in which women editors contribute to other projects and that WMF works to ensure their contributions are valued and supported, recognizing that systemic bias means value and support is less likely to happen naturally within the system.
Perhaps they're not mutually exclusive though. I'm sharing this hoping it helps to explain why some people, who are activists in this area, aren't necessarily active in the way proposed right now :)
Cheers, Cobi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Alixos
On Oct 18, 2556 BE, at 6:29 AM, Sydney Poore wrote:
Hi ,
Today I began the discussion about establishing a Wikimedia Foundation affiliated user group around the topic of addressing the gender gap in Wikimedia Foundation projects. I see this as being an international organization where people from all over the world can work together on this common cause.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Establishing_a...
The threshold for being recognized is pretty low., only 3 people, but I would not want to go for affiliation with less than 10 interested people. And I hope we can attract many many more.
I plan to discuss this in Berlin at the Diversity Conference but want to make it clear that the organization is open to every one interested in actively working on the topic. So please spread the word.
I put a sign up space in the thread so we can capture the initial interest that came out of this thread.
One of the key discussion will be the name of the group. So everyone put their thinking caps on so we can make this decision within the next month of so.
Sydney Poore
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
On 10/21/2013 2:41 AM, Sarah Granger wrote:
I could see some women's organizations getting really angry once they understand the problem, and blaming men for sexism, when the problem, as all of us on this list know, is much more complex and not an outright issue like that.
It may not be as much an issue in getting women initially involved and editing.
It becomes a primary issue once they edit articles where they start to run into aggressive young males who act like Wikipedia is an intellectual video game where the goal is to win at all costs and frustrate/annoy/attack one's "opponent". And see how much "free speech fun" you can have if you suspect the opponent is young and female. (Even we sexegenarians run into some of that.)
Then a significant number - majority? super-majority? - run for the hills.
Being a tough old bird it took me seven years to get sufficiently fed up, but I'm almost there and have removed myself from articles where battleground behavior by major and macho POV pushers exist. The encyclopedia may be more absurdly biased in a number of articles I worked on, including BLPs I used to try to keep NPOV, but enough is enough...
A greater willingness to admit the problem of young male aggression/gamesmanship, and replacing it with collaboration, mentoring, wikilove -- and firmly dealing with abusers with lots of short blocks to rethink their behavior -- would help.
CM
Welcome to the list Cobi. :-)
I want to talk with you more about your thoughts. We are in agreement that rewarding existing groups or projects who demonstrate the ability to be inclusive is one way to fight systemic bias.
I'm on the WMF's Fund Dissemination Committee that gives unrestricted grants to fund annual plans of WMF affiliated organizations. These groups are the largest and most complex organizations who will be receiving between $100, 000 to $2, 000, 000.
Diversity work is one of the areas that organizations can highlight in the proposal to show that they are working on projects that advance the WMF's goals as stated in WMF Strategic Plan.
Right now we are in the open community review part of the process. This phase gives anyone the chance to look at the proposals and ask questions or comment.
It would be great to have people who are knowledgable about different types of programs or activities weighing in about whether the proposal is addressing the gender gap in a meaningful way.
The talk pages of the proposals are closely monitored by the organizations and the FDC staff and committee members and is the best place to leave comments or questions.
The community review is open for 10 more days. Leaving your comments about the proposals now is the best way to influence funding of WMF's largest organizations.
This page is where to begin reviewing the proposals.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/FDC_portal/FDC_recommendations/2012-2013_rou...
Spread the word.
Cobi, let's talk more about your ideas and how we can encourage existing groups to be more inclusive.
Regards,
Sydney Poore
from my iPhone
On Oct 21, 2013, at 0:48, Cobi cobi@aippnet.org wrote:
Hey, this is the first time I've actually added anything to discussion on this list :)
I agree that trying to address the issue by hiring one or two activists taking on responsiblity for talking about it/acting on it wouldn't address what I consider to be the big problem of "environmental challenges" or systemic bias, as having people focused specifically on the issue can mean that people who don't care or inadvertently contribute to the problem can continue to dismiss it as a niche issue. In my experience I find it more effective to say, for example, that I think open access is really important and I will contribute to open access projects, but if people behave in ways that contribute to systemic bias, I will not contribute further as I prefer to focus my energies elsewhere.
As research about women in engineering shows, benefits-focused recruitment drives won't work if women (or other underrepresented peoples in Wikipedia) get lost along a leaky pipeline, when after acquiring the technical skills to contribute, they come to feel that their contributions aren't valued and they are better off focusing energies elsewhere. I'm working in international development - part of that often involves disaggregating data to see which projects are involving people of diverse genders and ages and ethnicities for example, and which aren't, and refocusing funding to value groups that demonstrate the ability to be inclusive, or that specifically engage people who are often left out in genuine decision-making and empowerment - rather than pushing them to work for little return. Perhaps one strategy is to look at the composition of existing WMF-affiliated user groups, to see what gaps exist in what WMF is endorsing (and giving grants for. I think it would useful to have an activist involved in every single user group, contributing there and raising awareness of issues among other editors, but that's a burden on each of those activists to lead change in those groups. I wouldn't be comfortable joining a group just focused on this issue, for fear of harassment or people being more subtly difficult, knowing I'm focusing energies in this area that they might be opposed to - I'd be more comfortable being part of a project in which women editors contribute to other projects and that WMF works to ensure their contributions are valued and supported, recognizing that systemic bias means value and support is less likely to happen naturally within the system.
Perhaps they're not mutually exclusive though. I'm sharing this hoping it helps to explain why some people, who are activists in this area, aren't necessarily active in the way proposed right now :)
Cheers, Cobi https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/User:Alixos
On Oct 18, 2556 BE, at 6:29 AM, Sydney Poore wrote:
Hi ,
Today I began the discussion about establishing a Wikimedia Foundation affiliated user group around the topic of addressing the gender gap in Wikimedia Foundation projects. I see this as being an international organization where people from all over the world can work together on this common cause.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Establishing_a...
The threshold for being recognized is pretty low., only 3 people, but I would not want to go for affiliation with less than 10 interested people. And I hope we can attract many many more.
I plan to discuss this in Berlin at the Diversity Conference but want to make it clear that the organization is open to every one interested in actively working on the topic. So please spread the word.
I put a sign up space in the thread so we can capture the initial interest that came out of this thread.
One of the key discussion will be the name of the group. So everyone put their thinking caps on so we can make this decision within the next month of so.
Sydney Poore
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Sydney, Good idea. I added some goals to the subsection on goals and structure. I think these are unrelated, btw I won't be in Berlin so I hope you post a link to your talk here.
Jane
Sent from my iPad
On Oct 18, 2013, at 1:29 AM, Sydney Poore sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Hi ,
Today I began the discussion about establishing a Wikimedia Foundation affiliated user group around the topic of addressing the gender gap in Wikimedia Foundation projects. I see this as being an international organization where people from all over the world can work together on this common cause.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Establishing_a...
The threshold for being recognized is pretty low., only 3 people, but I would not want to go for affiliation with less than 10 interested people. And I hope we can attract many many more.
I plan to discuss this in Berlin at the Diversity Conference but want to make it clear that the organization is open to every one interested in actively working on the topic. So please spread the word.
I put a sign up space in the thread so we can capture the initial interest that came out of this thread.
One of the key discussion will be the name of the group. So everyone put their thinking caps on so we can make this decision within the next month of so.
Sydney Poore
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote: On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Jane, thank you for jumping in and adding some suggestions.
Sydney
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 22, 2013, at 5:08, Jane Darnell jane023@gmail.com wrote:
Sydney, Good idea. I added some goals to the subsection on goals and structure. I think these are unrelated, btw I won't be in Berlin so I hope you post a link to your talk here.
Jane
Sent from my iPad
On Oct 18, 2013, at 1:29 AM, Sydney Poore sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Hi ,
Today I began the discussion about establishing a Wikimedia Foundation affiliated user group around the topic of addressing the gender gap in Wikimedia Foundation projects. I see this as being an international organization where people from all over the world can work together on this common cause.
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Talk:Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Establishing_a...
The threshold for being recognized is pretty low., only 3 people, but I would not want to go for affiliation with less than 10 interested people. And I hope we can attract many many more.
I plan to discuss this in Berlin at the Diversity Conference but want to make it clear that the organization is open to every one interested in actively working on the topic. So please spread the word.
I put a sign up space in the thread so we can capture the initial interest that came out of this thread.
One of the key discussion will be the name of the group. So everyone put their thinking caps on so we can make this decision within the next month of so.
Sydney Poore
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:29 PM, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 4:11 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Yes, with the narrowing focus last year the community will need to take the lead. But from the meeting earlier this year it is clear that there definitely is talented people on staff at WMF who are more than willing to assist as their time permits.
That's unfortunate. I understood the narrowing focus to mean not placing WMF offices and contractors around the world, or doing sort of boots on the ground face to face outreach. Since usability initiatives and some other programs are still ongoing, it seems like the gender gap should've stayed on the table for direct involvement even if not through the vehicle of the fellowship program. Too bad.
That said, there are chapters who receive hundreds of thousands of dollars in funding from the FDC despite having objectively achieved very little to date; certainly that means there is an opportunity there for people with an interest in dedicating themselves full time to this work to be compensated fairly through a funded WMF affiliate.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Hi,
To my knowledge there is not a true Wikimedia affiliated organization focused on the gender gap. But I would like to change that. :-)
It is on the list of ideas from the WMF gathering. I was thinking of an user group as a first step.
At the diversity conference next month I was planning to launch it if there was interest but we can go ahead and start the discussion now.
Sydney Poore
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 16, 2013, at 15:22, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
This might be a dumb question, but are there any ongoing GenderGap related efforts right now outside of content projects (i.e. other than on a Wikipedia etc.)? Is there a thematic organization focused on it, or any significant research or outreach grants or programs? It seems like an obvious candidate for an affiliate group, but I don't recall reading about one.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Do keep me posted it something comes out of the diversity conference. I'd like to be involved in the formation if a usergroup if it's possible.
I talked to people in Hong Kong about forming a group to advise for Wikimania and provide a safe space for women to hang out and to provide a space for anyone (regardless of gender) to come if anything happens (sexual assault, harassment, and it never fails to happen). And I could see a group like that helping with that.
I'm not attending the diversity conference, unfortunately, so I look forward to hearing any outcomes about a user group.
Thanks Sydney for taking the lead!
-Sarah
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 12:31 PM, Sydney sydney.poore@gmail.com wrote:
Hi,
To my knowledge there is not a true Wikimedia affiliated organization focused on the gender gap. But I would like to change that. :-)
It is on the list of ideas from the WMF gathering. I was thinking of an user group as a first step.
At the diversity conference next month I was planning to launch it if there was interest but we can go ahead and start the discussion now.
Sydney Poore
Sent from my iPhone
On Oct 16, 2013, at 15:22, Nathan nawrich@gmail.com wrote:
This might be a dumb question, but are there any ongoing GenderGap related efforts right now outside of content projects (i.e. other than on a Wikipedia etc.)? Is there a thematic organization focused on it, or any significant research or outreach grants or programs? It seems like an obvious candidate for an affiliate group, but I don't recall reading about one.
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Rohini, I've been excited to see the India work plan develop and will be really interested to hear what comes next as plans develop into action! We've been wondering if you and others in the India community would want to partner with WMF to organize a gender gap event in Bangalore in February as followup to Diversity Conference....it seems like having more ways to gather and grow the conversation in person a couple of times this year could be useful. And perhaps an affiliate org (go, Sydney!!) could help keep that happening over time too.
Even though we don't have a focused gender gap grants program in particular (although WMF Engineering does have the Outreach Program for Women, which is awesomely getting more women involved in MediaWiki), I'd love to find ways to encourage more grant proposals for projects aimed at the gender gap coming into IdeaLab, IEG, etc...I wonder if we can organize some sort of 2014 campaign around this?
WMF doesn't have staff whose full-time jobs are focused on this issue, that's true, but there are lots of us who care and do want to put time and energy towards this work as we're able.
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 12:00 PM, Rohini Lakshané rohini@wikimedia.inwrote:
Hello everyone,
Last month, I had put together a work plan for Gender gap activities in India: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_India_work_plan
I would greatly appreciate it if you could add your suggestions, feedback and comments to the work plan or post them here. The strategy shared by Siko Bouterse is full of ideas I could incorporate into the work plan, and it addresses some of the challenges I have been thinking long and hard about. I am delighted to see that a Gender gap event in Indiahttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Short_Term_Strategy_.2F_Next_Stepscould be in the offing. :)
Regards, Rohini -- Chairperson (Special Interest Group), Gender gap, Wikimedia Chapter (India)
On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 2:09 AM, Siko Bouterse sbouterse@wikimedia.orgwrote:
Hi all,
In July, we hosted a small gathering in San Francisco to consider the current state of the gender gap and brainstorm some initiatives that community and staff (WMF grantmakers, etc) might work on together in the coming year. After a shamefully long time,[1] notes from this meeting are finally up on meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013
Please join inhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#August_2013_and_beyond, improve, share your thoughts about what's there or add new ideashttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Brainstorm_of_ideasto the brainstorm list! If people are interested, we might build on this more together both on meta and at Diversity Conference in Berlin next month.[2]
I'm also planning to host an IdeaLab session at Diversity Conference to work together on action plans for diversity-focused projects. If you aren't able to attend in person, perhaps you'd want to write up your favorite idea in the IdeaLab instead, to spark some more collaborations?
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab
Warm regards, Siko
[1] Yes, it really did take me 3 months to finish removing an under-construction template and decide some things are just going to stay messy, sigh. [2] Reminder to register by Oct 20th, I understand the program schedule will be published later this week: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Diversity_Conference
-- Siko Bouterse Head of Individual Grants Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. sbouterse@wikimedia.org
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. * *Donate https://donate.wikimedia.org or click the "edit" button today, and help us make it a reality!*
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Siko, we would definitely like to organise a Gender gap event in partnership with the WMF. Mumbai is a good location to hold it, apart from Bangalore. The Mumbai community is large and there are quite a few women who would like to join us. -- Chairperson (Special Interest Group), Gender gap, Wikimedia Chapter (India)
On Thu, Oct 17, 2013 at 2:02 AM, Siko Bouterse sbouterse@wikimedia.orgwrote:
Rohini, I've been excited to see the India work plan develop and will be really interested to hear what comes next as plans develop into action! We've been wondering if you and others in the India community would want to partner with WMF to organize a gender gap event in Bangalore in February as followup to Diversity Conference....it seems like having more ways to gather and grow the conversation in person a couple of times this year could be useful. And perhaps an affiliate org (go, Sydney!!) could help keep that happening over time too.
Even though we don't have a focused gender gap grants program in particular (although WMF Engineering does have the Outreach Program for Women, which is awesomely getting more women involved in MediaWiki), I'd love to find ways to encourage more grant proposals for projects aimed at the gender gap coming into IdeaLab, IEG, etc...I wonder if we can organize some sort of 2014 campaign around this?
WMF doesn't have staff whose full-time jobs are focused on this issue, that's true, but there are lots of us who care and do want to put time and energy towards this work as we're able.
On Wed, Oct 16, 2013 at 12:00 PM, Rohini Lakshané rohini@wikimedia.inwrote:
Hello everyone,
Last month, I had put together a work plan for Gender gap activities in India: http://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_India_work_plan
I would greatly appreciate it if you could add your suggestions, feedback and comments to the work plan or post them here. The strategy shared by Siko Bouterse is full of ideas I could incorporate into the work plan, and it addresses some of the challenges I have been thinking long and hard about. I am delighted to see that a Gender gap event in Indiahttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Short_Term_Strategy_.2F_Next_Stepscould be in the offing. :)
Regards, Rohini -- Chairperson (Special Interest Group), Gender gap, Wikimedia Chapter (India)
On Wed, Oct 9, 2013 at 2:09 AM, Siko Bouterse sbouterse@wikimedia.orgwrote:
Hi all,
In July, we hosted a small gathering in San Francisco to consider the current state of the gender gap and brainstorm some initiatives that community and staff (WMF grantmakers, etc) might work on together in the coming year. After a shamefully long time,[1] notes from this meeting are finally up on meta:
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013
Please join inhttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#August_2013_and_beyond, improve, share your thoughts about what's there or add new ideashttps://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Gender_gap_strategy_2013#Brainstorm_of_ideasto the brainstorm list! If people are interested, we might build on this more together both on meta and at Diversity Conference in Berlin next month.[2]
I'm also planning to host an IdeaLab session at Diversity Conference to work together on action plans for diversity-focused projects. If you aren't able to attend in person, perhaps you'd want to write up your favorite idea in the IdeaLab instead, to spark some more collaborations?
https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab
Warm regards, Siko
[1] Yes, it really did take me 3 months to finish removing an under-construction template and decide some things are just going to stay messy, sigh. [2] Reminder to register by Oct 20th, I understand the program schedule will be published later this week: https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Wikimedia_Diversity_Conference
-- Siko Bouterse Head of Individual Grants Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. sbouterse@wikimedia.org
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. * *Donate https://donate.wikimedia.org or click the "edit" button today, and help us make it a reality!*
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Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
-- Siko Bouterse
Wikimedia Foundation, Inc.
sbouterse@wikimedia.org
*Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the sum of all knowledge. * *Donate https://donate.wikimedia.org or click the "edit" button today, and help us make it a reality!*
Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap