When and where | |
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When | October 2017 - continuous |
Where | Wikipedia |
Under-representation of science and women in Africa: Wikimania 2018 an opportunity to bridge the gap
Africa with about 16% of the world’s population contributes about 3%, in 2014, of global scientific publications [1].
Globally women are under-represented in science; a 2013-2014 report [2] [3] states that 12% of sixty nine surveyed science academy members were women. Similarly, on Wikipedia the online encyclopaedia, there is under representation of women by way of their biographies, approximately 17% on the English language Wikipedia, as of October 2017 [4].
Wikimania 2018, the yearly conference for the Wikimedia Foundation, the organisation which hosts Wikipedia, will be held for the first time in sub-Saharan Africa in Cape Town, South Africa [5]. In South Africa, Wikipedia is one of the top ten most visited websites (number six as of October 2017) [6].
It has been suggested that greater visibility of women in science can help ameliorate their under-representation [2]. Wikimania 2018 represents an opportunity to increase the visibility of women scientists in a continent also under-represented by way of scientific publications. More broadly this project aligns with the United Nations Sustainable Development goal of achieving gender equality by 2030 [7].
• To write Wikipedia biographies of South African women scientists.
• Wikipedia biographies will be written, based on Wikipedia notability criteria, using a contemporary list of members of the Academy of Science of South Africa. [8]
• Article in the South African Journal of Science • Wikimania 2018 presentation • Social media e.g. Twitter, Facebook
Although by no means addressing the underlying cause(s) of gender under-representation [9] this effort will help to draw attention to and ameliorate the under-representation of women scientists. This effort is a first step with scope of expansion to cover more fields, countries and men scientists as well.
The names are cited in this list from the Academy of Science of South Africa and new members, 2017, were added from this list