{"id":3283,"date":"2020-02-17T09:04:00","date_gmt":"2020-02-17T14:04:00","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/earlhamcollege.wpengine.com\/?p=3283"},"modified":"2021-03-08T09:04:27","modified_gmt":"2021-03-08T14:04:27","slug":"research-project-supporting-international-efforts-to-reverse-gender-imbalance-on-wikipedia","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/earlham.edu\/news-events\/research-project-supporting-international-efforts-to-reverse-gender-imbalance-on-wikipedia\/","title":{"rendered":"Research project supporting international efforts to reverse gender imbalance on Wikipedia"},"content":{"rendered":"\n
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A faculty-student research group from Earlham College is working to reverse a gender imbalance they became aware of on the go-to internet source for information, Wikipedia.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Led by Associate Professor of Psychology Rachael Reavis, the team is publishing profiles of prominent women of achievement on Wikipedia, where it has been documented that fewer than 20 percent of pages are devoted to women.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThis project started out as a way for my students to learn about notable women in psychology and neuroscience,\u201d Reavis says. \u201cNow this project is being expanded at Earlham to include women from other fields of study.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Despite Wikipedia\u2019s vast network of information, the lack of resources dedicated to women has been surprising, the research group says. That includes the omission of Joanne E. Berger-Sweeney, a pioneer in the field of neurobiology for her work on a popular Alzheimer\u2019s drug. Berger-Sweeney also was hired in 2014 as the first woman and first African American to become president at Trinity College in Connecticut.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cI\u2019m trying to make an impact on the world of neuroscience like Joanne has,\u201d says Jerilyn Gillenwater, a senior neuroscience major from St. Louis who conducted the research on the noteworthy scholar.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cBeing able to create a Wikipedia page \u2014 providing this information to a large group of people \u2014 means so much to me as a woman of color,\u201d she says. \u201cKnowing that this information didn\u2019t exist before me makes me feel really good about the impact we\u2019re having.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Research related to issues of equality and social justice are a natural fit for Earlham, a national liberal arts college with Quaker roots and an ongoing commitment to its founding values, which include striving for peace and human rights, and respect for others and the environment.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

While Wikipedia isn\u2019t always a reliable source for research papers, Reavis says, it\u2019s typically the first resource people encounter when they use a search engine.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project is already having an impact. Reavis says the profiles generated more than 1,000 page views when they appeared on the Wikipedia homepage. Seven of the 10 profiles have been published in Wikipedia\u2019s \u201cDid you know?\u201d section.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cOne challenge that we\u2019ve discovered in adding women to Wikipedia is they often get nominated for deletion,\u201d Reavis says. \u201cWe\u2019ve been really careful about meeting the standards and documenting that the standards have been met so people can\u2019t come and delete our work.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Reavis’ research group is inspired by London physicist Jess Wade’s commitment to better represent women and people of color on Wikipedia. Reavis also notes that her team’s work has been observed by the Wikiproject Women in Red, a group of global editors seeking gender equality in the wiki movement. Since 2015, this initiative has been a driving force in increasing the number of English women biographies on Wikipedia from 15.5 percent to 18.23 percent.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cThey are aware of our work,\u201d Reavis says. \u201cThey have been encouraging and helpful. They even sent us little buttons that say, \u2018I made the internet less sexist.\u2019\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

The project will continue this summer to include students from other areas of study.<\/p>\n\n\n\n

\u201cWe anticipate significant interest in this project moving forward,\u201d Reavis says. \u201cNot only does this work allow students to learn about key women who have worked in their chosen field of study, it has the capacity to unite students from across the College who have a common goal of creating a more equitable world of research and discovery.\u201d<\/p>\n\n\n\n

Earlham-authored profiles on Wikipedia<\/h3>\n\n\n\n