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Female visible Wikipedia
Other | Monday 24th September 2012 | Osh
The Wikipedia profiles of women in technology and engineering will be updated at an "edit-a-thon" event held at the Royal Society next month.
Ulta Frith, professor in cognitive development at UCL and a fellow of the Royal Society, is concerned about the invisibility of women in the realm of science and technology on Wikipedia. She said to BBC, “Can you immediately come up with a handful of names of female staff in technology? Is that because there aren't any or because they're sort of invisible?”, adding: "It's a catch-22 - if you can't find them easily in a place like Wikipedia, you won't know anything about them. You'll think they are not important."
To sort that out, she has organised an event, “edit a thon”, to updates the profile of women in science and technology to held at Royal Society on 19th October. The profiles chosen to be updated will all be of historical figures.This event will be a part of annual celebrations to honour the work of Ada Lovelace. She used to work with mathematical engineer, Charles Babbage on his "analytical machine" in the early 19th Century. The machine is considered to be the foundation of modern computers but was never actually built. Those unable to attend the session in London on 19th October, will be able to take part online.
Among the profiles being considered for the edit-a-thon are: Dame Kathleen Lonsdale, a crystallographer who discovered the chemical structure of oil component benzene; Dr Elsie Widdowson, who oversaw the introduction of vitamin supplements to food during World War II rationing; and Mary Buckland, a palaeontologist who worked with her husband to record and identify fossils in the 1800s.
Frith believes, "I hope this event will be the start of many more, where we can also improve the visibility of living female scientists." Women scientists need visibility and this event will honour their important work.
By Shavy Malhotra
