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Wikimedia Foundation Board of Trustees/Call for feedback: Community Board seats/Reports/2021-03-12 Conversation with WikiWomen

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2021-03-12 Conversation with WikiWomen User Group

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Quotas

  • One person said they do not like the idea of quotas because people might perceive them differently.
  • One person said if there is a person who is well-qualified, then we do not want them to not be elected because of the quota or gender maximum. Others agreed.
  • One person said it seems like Wikimedia LGBT+ thinks they would like one seat on the Board.

Skills and Experience

  • One person said qualifications or skills to be successful on the board are important for women on the board (especially if quotas are used to elected those seats).
  • The facilitator asked the group, "How do you define community experience? Perhaps it is not just on-wiki experience or is it?"
  • One person responded it might not be possible to contribute on every platform but as a Board member you need to be able to communicate, so on-wiki experience is important. This means working with other parts of the movement and not just the local projects.
  • One person said most importantly we need Board members who can be an effective Board.

Specialization Seats

  • One person said for people to understand GLAMs on the Board would be wonderful to know what it means for libraries and museums and knowledge institutions provide free access to information.

Candidate Resources

  • One person said outreach to communities to serve on the board and run for the Board is important.
  • One person said we should encourage women who are strong community members and advocates and keep encouraging them to run even if they say no the first time.
  • One person said we can identify strong women with strong community leadership already. We have to try an encourage them. Why not find some women who have the potential and start training them?
    • Someone responded, "That is a long-term project. I am not sure what this would be sufficient for now. How can we make sure we have enough women represented on the Board now?"
  • The facilitator asked, "How can we get people to understand lived experiences impact awareness and would not necessarily mean a Board member only represents that region?"
  • One person said the person can help inform other Board members of the experiences and conditions people from the region. Example of most people in Africa only have mobile phones but not laptops. Editing should be easily done on mobile phones.

CfF Feedback One person said filling out a form might be easier to gather feedback, but that can be complicated too.