The Lady Geeks Are Coming For Wikipedia

Wikipedia’s boy’s club problem is a vicious cycle; 87 percent of the site’s editors are men, so the site’s content skews very dude (and sometimes very anti-woman.)

“Storming Wikipedia,” a project of the feminist organization FemTechNet, is here to save the day/your insomnia (or am I the only one who Wikipedias famous serial killers/revolutions/snacks when I can’t sleep?). From Mother Jones:

[“Storming Wikipedia”], an assignment given to students participating in FemTechNet’s new online course, is designed to fix this imbalance. During these exercises students edit Wikipedia en masse, “with the goal being to collaboratively write feminist thinking into the site,” says Alexandra Juhasz, professor of media studies at California’s Pitzer College and one of the course facilitators.

Students participating in the exercise will create and expand Wikipedia articles on influential women and encourage “feminists, academics, and activists to contribute to Wikipedia and help revolutionize its culture.” According to Inside Higher Ed, “students will be given lists of women who have played key roles in science and technology,” and will tweak articles to acknowledge their contributions.

FemTechNet is also launching an online curriculum about women and technology; starting in September, instructors at 15 different colleges will offer “Dialogues on Feminism and Technology.” Awesome.