Why we need to close Wikipedia's gender page gap

It's the fifth most visited website in the world, and the first port of call for those of us in search of information about a famous person or historical event. But did you know that only 17 per cent of Wikipedia's biographies are about women? It’s a woefully inaccurate reflection of women’s achievements - and it has to change.

That's why, during this year’s London Tech Week, which starts today, I have set up an ‘Edit-a-thon’ at Bloomberg’s office in the capital to try and help redress the balance.

Schoolgirls from across the city will be joining forces with Wikipedia’s experts and women in the tech industry to create a surge in new pages about women, and to add more detail to existing ones.

With 83 per cent of biographies on Wikipedia about men, you may not be surprised to learn that men also make up around 85 per cent of those who edit pages on the site. That is also something we want to see change - after all, anyone can be a Wikipedia editor if they want to, and this could go a huge way in leveling the playing field.

So why are there fewer female Wikipedia editors? Previously, this 'Wikigap' was blamed on a lack of knowledge about the editing process; for some, it may be a case of just not having enough time. Others might suffer from a lack of confidence about submitting biographical entries, with some women reporting that they have had negative experiences of doing so, and faced abuse or conflict online. These are all issues we must address if we are to see a shift in the number of pages about fascinating women, past and present, that the site so sorely lacks.

Working with the Wikipedia Foundation and Bloomberg, today is the first in a series of Edit-a-thons taking place across London to help improve its gender equality ratio. Events like this build a supportive environment to help empower young women to put forward ideas, and feel their contribution is valued. By supporting them to feel at home with the editing process, and encouraging them to think about the remarkable women that are still in need of a Wikipedia biography, we can make a real difference.

Wikipedia has been working to address the balance for some time with initiatives such as Women in Red, which has resulted in the creation of 17,000 new biographies of women in the past three years. But there is still far more to do.

Today, we will be adding women CEOs, editors, entrepreneurs, lawyers and artists who, in spite of their talent, profile and significant contributions to their industry - are still without Wikipedia entries.

Among the new entries that will be created is Perminder Mann, the CEO of Bonnier Publishing UK, one of the UK’s top publishing firms, who has featured on The Bookseller magazine’s list of the 100 most influential people in the industry; Farrah Storr, the editor-in-chief of Cosmopolitan magazine, who previously launched Women’s Health, one of the UK’s bestselling health and lifestyle publications, is also getting her own page. The entrepreneur and coder Emem Rita Usanga will be recognised in our Edit-a-thon, too, thanks to her work as founder of Bnkability, a platform that helps small and medium-sized companies become investor-ready.

It is not just female business leaders on today's list, but those who have played a key role in our history. This year marks the centenary of women securing the right to vote, and Gillian Wearing’s statue of Millicent Fawcett in Parliament Square features the names and images of 59 women and men who took part in the struggle etched on to the plinth. One of the women, Maud Palmer, the Countess of Selborne, who was President of the Conservative and Unionist Women’s Franchise Association and part of the suffrage campaign, is also without a Wikipedia page. Not after today. 

Our Edit-a-thon goes beyond increasing the number of biographies of women on Wikipedia. It goes right to the heart of how we recognise women’s achievements and contribution to history. That’s what my #BehindEveryGreatCity campaign is all about: highlighting the women who drove - and continue to drive - London’s success, and ensuring they get the acknowledgement they deserve.

Following today’s event I am asking the tech community to follow Bloomberg’s example, and join me in kickstarting a wave of Edit-a-thons across schools in London.

By giving women and girls the skills and support they need, we can shine a spotlight on those who play a vital role in making London the greatest city in the world.