Windsor women work to correct Wikipedia's gender imbalance

It's the draw ofWikipedia-- free information that anyone can add oredit at anytime.While anyone can be a volunteerWikipediaeditor, most who do so are men and only 10 per cent of editors identifyas women.

A group in Windsor is hoping to changethose numbers.Sarah Morris ofHackforgeand Julie Tucker ofthe Windsor Arts Council are helping to organize aWikipediaEdit-a-Thonon Saturday.

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"A lot of people think ofWikipediaas sort of a static thing. It's like an encyclopedia right? It's just sort of the idea of truth. It's the first stop when you're researching something. But the truth is people contribute to it and their inherent biases come through in those articles," said Morris.

"We are very vocally saying 'no, let's add some more women on toWikipedia'and I think it's a positive thing."

Saturday'sEdit-a-Thonwill focus on the arts. According to Tucker, there's a huge void on the online site when it comes to covering women in the arts.

"Sixty-three per cent of living artists in Canada are women actually. But they are not represented inWikipediaor the gallery system," saidTucker.

The women said one issue withWikipediais it'snot user-friendly. The Edit-a-thon will help volunteers navigate their way through the site.

"One of the things we're going to do on Saturday is help empower people, which is one of Hackforge's mandates," said Morris. "Technology is not just something you have to consume. You're on the phoneall day, you're on the computerall day, but really you can have an active roleon the Internet and technology."

By Sunday, both women hopeWikipediawill have more of a female touch.