Archival Activism: the Editors fighting Wikipedia’s Sexism Problem

In 1893, Kate Sheppard, before leading the women’s suffrage movement to victory, allegedly stirred controversy by cycling in public.

At that time, females on bicycles often faced harassment. Kate Sheppard, a proponent of active lifestyles for women, earned the dubious honor of being “the first woman in Christchurch to be seen riding a bicycle,” despite facing ridicule and disapproval from the community.

Susan Tolich, a Wikipedia editor from Dunedin, faced challenges in finding action shots of Sheppard for her Wikipedia article. She remarked that Sheppard is depicted in photographs as lovely, serene, and dignified, lacking images of her more dynamic pursuits.

Sheppard’s Wikipedia page contains only two images, one being the iconic 1905 portrait on New Zealand’s ten-dollar note, and the other a picture captured nine years later, showing her in a contemplative pose.

Collaborating with a group of editors, Tolich strives to upgrade Kate Sheppard’s Wikipedia page to a featured article by the 125th anniversary of women’s suffrage in September. This status is granted to only a small fraction of entries, signifying the highest standards of completeness, neutrality, accuracy, and style.

Tolich aims to address Wikipedia’s gender disparity. Studies report that a low percentage of biographical articles in English Wikipedia focus on women, and there is a notable lack of female editors on the platform, despite previous initiatives to increase their representation.

Recognizing the biased portrayal of female biographies on Wikipedia, Tolich stresses the importance of rectifying the imbalance to ensure a more complete representation of history.

Before diving into editing, Tolich’s brother, a seasoned Wikipedia contributor, cautioned her about facing the community’s strict standards, particularly highlighting the challenges novice editors, especially women, may encounter.

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Tolich, intrigued by New Zealand history, commenced her Wikipedia editing journey in July 2017. While interning at the Auckland War Memorial Museum during her master’s study in museum and heritage studies at Victoria University, she served as a ‘Wikimedian in residence,’ contributing to the platform using institutional resources.

Despite its flaws, Tolich admires the accessibility of Wikipedia, emphasizing how it democratizes information access for individuals unable to access scholarly repositories.

Her debut Wikipedia article featured designer Susan Holmes and spurred Tolich to create several pages documenting New Zealand’s female fashion designers, fostering a collaborative editing environment.

During this period, Tolich received support from the Women in Red organization, dedicated to creating biographies of women worldwide. Tolich recalls the invaluable guidance and backing she received, underscoring the community’s importance in sustaining editors.

While Tolich hasn’t encountered explicit misogyny in her Wikipedia interactions, she recognizes the prevalence of harassment faced by women editors, propelled by biases and prejudices.

Another acclaimed editor, Emily Temple-Wood, garnered attention in 2016 for her innovative response to Wikipedia harassment, creating new content as a form of empowerment against abuse.

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Women in Red, founded by Stephenson-Goodknight in 2015, aims to amplify the representation of women across Wikipedia. As a prominent figure in Wikipedia activism, Stephenson-Goodknight’s dedication and achievements have significantly advanced the cause of gender equity on the platform.

Stephenson-Goodknight’s commitment to balancing gender representation on Wikipedia exemplifies how dedicated individuals can drive meaningful change within online communities.

Through initiatives like Women in Red and the collective efforts of editors like Tolich and Stephenson-Goodknight, the quest for gender equality and equity on Wikipedia continues to progress.

In a women event in September 2017, Tolich participated in New Zealand. The edit-a-thons held last month focused on women in fashion as well as female prisoners and detainees. While working on individual tasks, participants can track each other’s goals and progress on ‘meetup’ pages, fostering a sense of camaraderie, says Stephenson-Goodknight. Before the establishment of Women in Red, there was a noticeable increase in female biographies during Women’s History Month, but not throughout the year. Women in Red, named after the red links indicating missing articles, aims to enhance women’s biographies year-round.

The organization was launched by Stephenson-Goodknight and co-founder Roger Bamkin in July 2015 at a Wikimania conference in Mexico City. Stephenson-Goodknight recalls the event fondly, savoring the opportunity to connect with fellow editors, which is rare as most wiki work is done independently at home. Despite initial doubts about the project’s longevity, the reception was overwhelmingly positive with over 1,000 articles created about women by the end of July and now over 50,000 articles since its inception.

Since 2015, Women in Red has contributed to raising the proportion of female biographies from 15 to 17 percent. Stephenson-Goodknight emphasizes that the current representation is likely inadequate when considering the historical record of humankind.

Stephenson-Goodknight views Wikipedia editing as a chance to delve into topics she was not able to explore academically. Her passion for unearthing lesser-known historical information fuels her dedication to writing articles. Her initial articles focused on Canadian geography, but she now concentrates on 19th-century American female writers and pre-20th-century women’s conferences.

In relation to the Kate Sheppard project, Tolich has only met one fellow editor in person due to the private nature of many Wikipedia contributors. Various collaborators, including Shudde, Schwede66, and Gadfium, work on distinct areas of interest within editing. The Kate Sheppard project came to fruition through a meeting between Gadfium and Tolich during her internship at a museum in Auckland.

Shudde, known for enhancing articles about male rugby players, acknowledges the gender imbalance on Wikipedia and strives to contribute more to neglected pages. The Kate Sheppard article, a collaborative effort, undergoes extensive editing before being publicly assessed. Constructive criticism is crucial for maintaining professional standards in Wikipedia articles.

The challenge of sourcing information for female biographies is highlighted by Shudde, citing the scarcity of comprehensive accounts like that of Kate Sheppard. This lack of sources poses a significant obstacle, especially when writing about important but underrepresented figures like Farah Palmer.

Despite the hurdles, Stephenson-Goodknight finds comfort in the ongoing cultural transformation within Wikipedia. She reflects on the progress made in addressing gender bias and looks optimistically towards a more balanced representation in the future encyclopedias.

As January 15th marks Wikipedia’s 17th birthday during the interview, Stephenson-Goodknight envisions a future where the encyclopedia achieves greater equity in content representation. She remains hopeful that with time, Wikipedia will evolve towards a more inclusive and balanced platform.