User:Elisachang/Gender Gap Bridging Toolkit (South Asian edition)

Introduction

Research & finding

Holding gender gap bridging events

What is Harassment?

Appendix

“ I raise up my voice - not so I can shout, but so that those without a voice can be heard… We cannot succeed when half of us are held back. ” — Pakistani female education activist, Malala Yousafzai

Acknowledgement

This toolkit (1st Edition) is inspired by Ms. Emily Templewoods (User:Keilana)’s Systemic Bias Workshop Kit. As there has not been similar movement resources available in the Indian/South Asian context, this toolkit is dedicated to all South Asian Wikimedians to help bridge the gender imbalance and bias in our Wikimedia communities and projects.
This kit was initiated and developed by The Centre for Internet and Society - Access to Knowledge (CIS-A2K) Team. CIS-A2K has persistently supported the research and the movement of gender gap bridging. This kit is open to the local community members to build on over time. (Leave a message on the talk page if you would like to discuss more!)

Introduction

Why did we create this toolkit

As you may know, Wikipedia has a wide gender gap in participation and content coverage. Since the editor survey in 2011 showing that among the active editors worldwide only 9% identified themselves as female, research and initiatives have been proposed and conducted to bridge the gender gap (see Research and finding for more details). Perhaps unsurprisingly, studies and documentation have been more complete in the Western context (English/European language Wikipedias and communities), while the movement dynamics of non-Western communities has not been explored fully.

Hence, the aim of this kit is to create a repository of knowledge and strategies for gender gap bridging movements specifically in South Asia. The output goal is to raise the awareness on the issue and to help members carry out gender gap bridging activities in their local communities.

But why does gender gap matter?

How would you respond to this question:

But why does an editor’s’ gender matter? If we assume both men and women (and assumingly non-cisgender editors) are equally knowledgeable and capable, what’s so wrong about men editing instead of women?

The logic of this question signals the greatly problematic mindset that “female participation is good - in the sense that it’s complementary rather than essential, because a woman’s character, voice, and knowledge are replaceable or easily portrayable by another gender identity.”

To directly argue against this question, one has to refer to the Feminist Epistemology (please do read if you are interested!). But instead of going too deep into the study of gender and knowledge, we had come up with three main arguments on why women’s (and non-cisgender editors’) participation is indispensable:

Community diversity
Including more women does not jeopardize men’s participation. It only makes our communities more diverse and inclusive in a way that is beneficial to all editors and readers. As a free and open online encyclopedia, Wikipedia should be a place that welcomes diversified inputs, interests, and intellectual debates from editors with different identities. After all, what we know cannot be separated from who we are, our experiences, and how we make sense of the world; hence, there is no one identity capable of replacing another when it comes to knowledge creation.

Representation in knowledge and language
In our history, knowledge has been constructed under a patriarchal, male-as-default discourse - while women are positioned as periphery figures or “exceptional cases” when they are mentioned. The legacy of male-written history also continues to affect how we see history, knowledge, and the way we use the language. Of course, Wikipedia is not free of its impact. However, when creating a free and open encyclopedia for all, this hierarchy should be challenged. It is never too late to start making changes.

Remembering
While most women’s voices were lost in our history, we cannot let the silence be continued. In a digital era today, knowledge can be immortalized, remembered, and disseminated to an extent that our ancestors cannot imagine. There has never been a time when we can store and share what we know this fast and freely. If women’s participation of knowledge creation remains low in our time, we are risking our future generations to face an even bigger gap than what we see today.

Who is this toolkit designed for and how to use it?

It doesn’t matter what gender we identify ourselves as, or how experienced we are as Wikimedians, we can all contribute to make the online and offline communities a better place and to encourage women’s participation in knowledge creation. Whether you are passionate about gender issues, Wikipedia editing, or both, this is the toolkit for YOU!

Whilst, the Research and Finding part will be focusing on the research data gathered in South Asia, most of the toolkit is applicable to the gender gap bridging movements worldwide. We encourage community members from around the globe, especially in the South Asian regions, to continue contributing on the toolkit.

Global initiatives

Do you know that there are many global Wikiproject initiatives and user groups already working on the issue? Why not incorporate your local event or campaign to a global initiative?

Below is a list of these global partners and initiatives you may consider consulting and/or working with for your gender gap bridging activities. For local partners that may collaborate or provide resources, please see Appendix.

Wikiprojects

A WikiProject is a group of contributors who want to work together as a team to improve Wikipedia. These groups often focus on a specific topic area, a specific location, or a specific kind of task.

• WikiProject Women in Red
• WikiProject Women
• WikiProject Women’s History Month
• WikiProject Countering Systemic Bias
  • Gender gap task force
• WikiProject Women Scientists
• WikiProject Wiki Loves Women
• Whose Knowledge

Past global campaign and events

These are some of the global campaign or events that have been carried out around the world. Although some of these were one-time activities, you can build your events with the same structure or rationale… or you may also contact some international partners and Wikimedians to revive these initiatives!

• UN Women Her Story
• Writing Contest - The women you have never met
• BBC 100 Women edit-a-thon

User groups

Wikimedia user groups are intended to be simple and flexible affiliates that are an alternative to chapters and thematic organizations but are still highly valued as equal players in the Wikimedia movement.

• WikiWomen's User Group
• Wikimedia LGBTQ+
• Art+Feminism

Other platforms

• WikiWomen's Collaborative
• Wikimedia Blog/Wikiwomen
• Gender gap global mailing list

As you may have noticed, the global initiatives and projects can usually be found on Meta Wiki or English Wikipedia. Although the context and discussion are usually in English, localizing the ideas of these initiatives for your event is very important and beneficial. Here are some ideas to consider:

Translate some of the pages into your local language
Hold this event for your local language Wikipedia/Wikimedia projects instead of in English
Localize the theme (e.g. famous female activists from Maharashtra) and using local language sources
Fit the theme into local interest and current affairs
Collaborate with a local partner organization/institution