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Wikipedia: It's a man's world
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by generaldecay | September 15, 2009 at 01:02 pm
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A recent study, reported on the Wall Street Journal's blog, reveals that only 13 percent of Wikipedia's contributors are female.
I've never given this more than a moment's thought but who would have thunk it. Wiki is the Internet's free encyclopaedia, and is filled, edited and updated by anyone who feels like it. The linked research indicates that this filling, editing and updating is predominantly a male sport, with a 87% male/ 13% female breakdown. I did not know this. In the scheme of things, of course, this finding isn't of massive import but it's interesting nonetheless.
Wikipedia aims for democratic participation: Anyone can contribute, and everyone's contributions are subject to correction by other users. Its subject matter isn't implicitly gendered: It covers almost any topic that's relevant enough to warrant an entry.
So, if it's not 'implicitly gendered', why is it, erm, gendered?
Well, one suggested reason is that women are socially trained to be non-confrontational, and wiki, for all its merits, is indeed very confrontational.
These traits -- the ability to show off one's knowledge, to argue over fine (and possibly trivial) points, to correct others publicly -- aren't inherently male or female. Still, they're often beneficial for men and socially detrimental for women. On the Internet, this shouldn't matter.
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But after a lifetime of hearing that they should be polite, non-confrontational and self-deprecating, many women may feel uncomfortable shedding that training to engage in a toad classification debate on Wikipedia.
It's a thought...
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Most RecentMost Recommended Comments (2)
at 23:41 on September 15th, 2009
Maybe it's just because women too healthy and rounded in their approach to life to bother getting inflamed in religious wars over some minutiae about the life of William Shatner.
I do notice (as a bloke) that men seem to be given more to be relentlessly autodidactic and bull-headed in showing off what they've learnt. Ultimately, 95% of articles on Wikipedia don't matter and if women are staying away from that kind of thing then more power to them!
at 09:38 on September 28th, 2009
You know, you could well be right!