CIS-A2K/Work plan July 2017 - June 2018/Bridging Gender Gap initiatives
Main page | Budget | Kannada | Odia | Marathi | Telugu | Bridging Gender Gap | Global Engagement | Skill Building |
Introduction
editCIS-A2K has been putting more emphasis on understanding and bridging the gender gap in the Indic language Wikipedia communities. Over fifteen gender gap bridging events have been conducted so far during the current grant period in the four language areas (Kannada, Marathi, Odia, and Telugu). An independent researcher in the team has collected interviews and survey data through her action research on the gender imbalance in Indic language Wikipedia communities. The research helps us shed more light on the improvement needed in interventions conducted and the essentiality to raise gender sensitivity in the community.
In the 2017-2018 grant period, CIS-A2K will attempt to address the Wikipedia gender gap(s) in a more holistic and sustainable way by embedding the gender gap bridging initiatives in our practices in each community and program. That is, instead of seeing bridging the gender gap as a stand-alone theme, the team considers that the focus of women's participation, content creation, and gender sensitization should be a significant cross-cutting factor for all work plan activities. The goal is to initiate (and continue) the dialogue in all our areas of work (WEP, GLAM, skill building initiatives, etc.), rather than labeling only a small number of events as "gender-gap-bridging" effort in a certain period of time in a year.
Critical analysis of progress
editIn the grant period of July 2016 to June 2017, CIS-A2K has been conducting various gender gap bridging events including edit-a-thons, awareness sessions, and women's workshops. We also established strong partnership with the Delhi-based human rights and feminist NGO, Breakthrough, through collaborating in many events. With the action research focusing on women's participation in Indic language Wikipedias, CIS-A2K members have demonstrated increased attention and strong interest in the gender gap bridging initiatives. Some challenges faced and items of improvements include:
- Lack of followup of events that share the same themes and consist the same participants
- Many events were conducted for English Wikipedia editing rather than in Indic languages due to the challenges in finding local language sources
- Need of more female Wikipedian tutors in events that focus on women
- Gender sensitization and friendly space guidelines have not been emphasized or prioritized enough in gender gap bridging initiatives and activities
- The absence of Code of Conduct/Friendly Space policies or proper enforcement of the said guidelines in community activities and events
Implementation plans and goals
editTo materialize this cross-cutting theme initiative, Three main work plan ideas on bridging the gender gap is created. From Systematic changes to the improvement of outreach and activities, CIS-A2K aims to create tangible improvement in the local communities that are more sustainable and human-central. Under each of the three main plans are two to three smaller components that highlight different actions required to meet the objectives. The aims of these actions are not to merely change the "numbers" (ratio, editor counts, page counts, etc.) in event performance. Instead, it is to improve the environment and practices in the long term to make Indic Wikimedia communities more inclusive, welcoming, and alert of the Wikipedia gender gap issue.
Systematic changes | Practices | Reach |
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Guidelines localization and enforcement | GLAM and NGO collaboration | Broader awareness |
Training session for gender sensitization | Service in events and activities | Recognition and tangible impacts diagnosis |
Balancing gender ratio in events and programs | Strengthen Wikiwomen communities |
Systematic changes
Plan 1: Guidelines localization and enforcement
editOne of the most important steps to create a more friendly and aware community environment is to establish guidelines and made them accessible to the local volunteers. Core Wikipedia policy pages such as the Five pillars exist in most Indic languages, however, other more detailed guidelines that prevent unwelcome and insensitive gestures, such as WP: Harassment or WP: Don't bite the newcomers are not that well adapted in the Indic Wikipedias.
Localizing the guidelines are necessary for the communities' development and awareness and the procedure should follow the steps of Wikipedia policy and guideline page proposal. Inspiration can be drawn from English Wikipedia policy pages; however, we note that guidelines for a different Wikipedia version should be accepted locally and independently and that high level of consensus should be met. Community Village Pump discussion has to be initiated to decide which policies and guidelines are most urgently in need of translation and localization and what kind of local adaptation are required for the proposal.
Aside from Wikipedia policies and guidelines, manuals to eliminate gender bias as well as important gender gap bridging project pages and/or Wikiproject advice pages should also be translated and localized. Volunteers should be encouraged to propose the creation of How-to pages and information pages as well so long as the proposal procedure is followed to obtain consensus.
On the other hand, CIS-A2K had created an event Code of Conduct for our latest Train the Trainer (TTT) in February 2017. A poster was designed afterwards for the MediaWiki Training and posted at the event venue to draw more attendees' attention to the rules. We consider it the best practice for all community activities to adopt the same or similar rules in the future. A code of conduct sample will be posted on the Village Pump and mailing list discussion to further promote this initiative. For more informal and regular community activities such as meetups and social, a simplified version of the Code of Conduct (friendly space rule) should be in place. All community events supported and/or coordinated by CIS A2K in the following grant period will be required to have a Code of Conduct or friendly space rule, and all attendees and organizers should be made aware of it.
Activity execution
- Creation of clear policy proposal procedure guide book/tutorials for community members
- Discussion and consultation on Village Pump, mailing list, and community meetups regarding policy localization
- Policy pages translation-thon (under Template:Proposed)
- Code of Conduct localization discussion in community meetups
- Basic friendly space rule discussion and publication
- Code of Conduct poster design contest in each focus language area
Projection
Output target | Expected outcomes |
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Plan 2: Training session for gender sensitization
editIt was brought to our notice that there is still much need for gender sensitization in the communities and even in the CIS-A2K team. It is not to say that volunteers and/or team members have performed malicious behavior, but the level of gender sensitivity in communication, event planning, and execution of activities could have been improved in a few cases. Gender sensitization consists the effort to understand questions like "what is gender," "why gender factors matter," and "how to interact with people of different genders in a more unbiased, considerate, and open-minded way." In the current and previous years, CIS-A2K has had the fortune to work with some feminist organizations and Women's Study departments but the collaboration has not expanded from the scope of Edit-a-thon coordination. In the 2017-18 grant period, these network and resources will be further mobilized and considered as an asset to improve the community environment and program practices.
Activity execution
- Gender sensitization training session for team members (held by professional)
- Awareness campaign to crowdsource community members' opinions (through text, videos, or images) on why gender diversity matters and to share what can be improved in our practices
- In (mini) Train the Trainer (TTT) events, a mandatory workshop should be conducted by professional to build gender sensitization in the community
- In WEP, introduction sessions on the Wikipedia gender gap issue and gender sensitization of online collaboration culture will be mandatory in program syllabi
Projection
Output target | Expected outcomes |
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Things to be aware ofeditDifficulty level: Medium-high
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Practices
Plan 1: GLAM and NGO collaboration
editTo continue the partnership we have with institutions and NGOs who share the same belief in bridging the gender gap and women empowerment, the collaboration we had with these partners should become more regular and sustainable. Many individual events have been conducted but there has been a lack of followups. To address this situation, CIS A2K intend to provide more agency to our partners and to partner them more closely with the local Wikimedian communities. That is, in future practices, CIS-A2K will attempt to connect these institutions and organizations to the local language communities as the first step. As a liaison, CIS-A2K will encourage the two parties to exercise more agency to initiate collaboration ideas and share resources and local network.
Activity execution
- Edit-a-thons and follow up events in collaboration with GLAM and NGO partners that possess reference materials on women-related subjects
- Introduce the partners to global gender gap bridging initiatives and hold events that connect their local effort to global movement
- Train-a-Wikipedian sesions in GLAM institutions and NGOs to encourage (female) staff members to join Wikimedia projects and to establish the network between the partner and the local community
- Encourage material donation from the partners to enrich other Wikimedia projects
- Meet the partners - introduce our GLAM and NGO partners to local community members through community meetups or mailing list announcement
Projection
Output target | Expected outcomes |
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Plan 2: Service in events and activities
editIn community events and activities, female participants' convenience, comfort, and safety should be paid more attention to.
Execution
- Create a checklist of event venue facility and services that are necessary to ensure women participants' comfort and safety, such as:
- Female safety analysis on the event venue and accommodation facility (if applicable)
- Sufficient accessible, safe, and clean washrooms for both men and women
- Transportation arrangement (pick-up and drop-off) for female participants attending/leaving an event that run late/early
- Childcare service and feeding room at event venue (inquired before events and made available if requested)
- Submission of the checklist (pre-event) should be mandatory for all events supported and/or coordinated by the CIS-A2K
Projection
Output target | Expected outcomes |
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Plan 3: Balancing gender ratio in events and programs
editIt is extremely important to include more female and male participants in all activities and events. Although women-only events can be more comfortable for first time participants, in followup events and longer running programs, it is crucial to hold cross-gender interaction and dialogue. In events that are not in gender-related themes, notice should be posted that women's participation are strongly encouraged. On the other hand, in typical gender gap-bridging events, male members' participation should be widely encouraged so long as it does not override women's participation.
Execution
- At least 2 community events, regardless of themes, in each focus language area per year will fulfill the gender maximum rule that no more than 60% of attendees should identify themselves as the same gender.
- Event organizers should make notice on the event page and social media that the event is open to all genders and that female participants (or male participants for gender-related events) are especially welcome.
Projection
Output target | Expected outcomes |
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Things to be aware ofeditDifficulty level: Medium
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Reach
Plan 1: Broader awareness
editCIS-A2K is aware that the gender gap is not a singular phenomenon in Wikipedia and that "gender" should not be a standalone label without taking intersectional factors into account, such as a woman's race, caste, class, and different-ability. In the 2017-18 grant period we aim to bring in broader awareness about the Wikipedia gender gap initiatives to women in different sectors, regions, and interests. So far we have been successful in reaching to female students in post-secondary institutions and female professionals in the science academic disciplines. Our recruitment should, however, be beyond these fields and settings. On the other hand, more collaboration with other Open Source communities will also be initiated to help us learn from other communities who share the same concern.
Activity execution
- Participate in conferences and events outside of the Wikimedia community to raise awareness of the Wikipedia gender gap issue
- Outreach activity and edit-a-thon events for women working in different sectors and academic fields
- Hold edit-a-thons in coordination with the Dalit History Month to raise awareness of knowledge from and about Dalit Women (similar initiatives can also be applied to Tribal women, LGBT History Month, etc.)
- Hold basic Wikipedia workshops outside of the main cities (within the focus language areas) to reach women in different regions and background.
- Using Software Freedom Day, OpenCon, and other Open Source events to raise the awareness of Wikipedia gender gap and to learn from other FOSS communities
Projection
Expected outcomes |
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Plan 2: Recognition and tangible impact diagnosis
editIn order to reach more women and help more women stay active, incentives and regular recognition should be given. This include from small gestures like WikiLove to more significant ones like press mention. Additionally, tangible impacts and benefits of women and their contribution to Wikimedia projects should be discussed and shared among members as a form of encouragement.
Execution
- Send post-event automatic message to remind and encourage new Wikipedians to keep editing
- Work closely with agency and consultants to increase the media exposure of Wikipedia gender gap bridging initiatives
- Utilize social media strategies to highlight events and community volunteers' stories
- Interview active female Wikipedians about the tangible benefit they gain from contributing to Wikimedia projects (used as outreach material)
Projection
Expected outcomes |
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Plan 3: Strengthen Wikiwomen communities
editA women's community in specific region can be helpful to strengthen the bonding and support network among female Wikimedians. Local groups like Mangaluru Wikiwomen strive for creating a women's space and close-knitted community across languages.
Activity Execution
- Contact female Wikimedians in different cities to set up a contact network with other local Wikiwomen
- Support and coordinate regular (monthly or bi-monthly) Wikiwomen meetups
- Edit-a-thons and workshop conducting
- Wikiwomens' community can provide resource persons (such as female tutors) for other activities in the language communities
Projection
Output target | Expected outcomes |
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Things to be aware ofeditDifficulty level: Medium-low
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Global metrics adaptation
editMetric | Expected outcome |
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Participants | 170 |
Newly Registered | 140 |
Content Pages | 70 |
Footprint tracker | 5 |
Value of bytes deleted | 3,000 |
To implement the gender gap bridging initiatives as a cross-cutting theme among all practices, CIS-A2K decided to include gender parameters in the global metrics.
Original global metrics | Add-on gender parameters |
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1. Number of active editors involved | Number of active female editors involved |
2. Number of new editors | Number of female new editors |
3. Number of individuals involved | Number of female individuals involved |
4. Number of new images/media added to Wikimedia articles/pages | -- |
5. Number of articles added or improved on Wikimedia projects | Number of articles added or improved for Women in Red Project (or other gender gap bridging global initiatives) |
6. Absolute value of bytes added to or deleted from Wikimedia projects | Absolute value of bytes added to or deleted from Wikimedia projects that are associated to Women in Red Project (or other gender gap bridging global initiatives) |
Gender parameter target
editAdd-on gender parameters | Target | Note |
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Number of active female editors involved | 30 | Due to the gender gap bridging research activities and interviews conducted during July 2016 - June 2017 grant period, the number of active female editors involved had been higher in the 2016 December Progress Report. The proposed number in this July 2017 - June 2018 work plan is lowered as the research is expected to be finalized before July 2017. |
Number of female new editors | 140 | |
Number of female individuals involved | 200 | |
Number of articles added or improved for Women in Red Project (or other gender gap bridging global initiatives) | 70 | |
Absolute value of bytes added to or deleted from Wikimedia projects that are associated to Women in Red Project (or other gender gap bridging global initiatives) | 1MB |
Budget
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