research showed that only 16 percent of new editors joining Wikipedia during 2009 identified themselves as female, and those females made only 9 percent of the edits by the editors who joined in 2009.
Gender gap shows no sign of closing over the past five years MINNEAPOLIS / ST. PAUL (08/11/2011) —Computer science researchers in the University of Minnesota's College of Science and Engineering are leading a team that has confirmed a substantial gender gap among editors of Wikipedia and a corresponding gender-oriented disparity in the content. The team's research will be presented at the 2011 WikiSym conference, the seventh annual International Symposium on Wikis and Open Collaboration, in California this fall. Over the past decade, Wikipedia has become a premier online information resource. About 400 million people around the world visit Wikipedia on the web every month. Remarkably, Wikipedia was not built by experts, but instead harnesses the collective efforts of millions of volunteer editors. "Anecdotal information suggested that the smaller number of female editors may have led to a deficiency in Wikipedia's coverage of topics of particular interest to females," said lead researcher and computer science doctoral student Shyong (Tony) Lam. "A January 2011 New York Times article pointed out that Wikipedia's coverage of topics like friendship bracelets or 'Sex and the City' pales in comparison to that of toy soldiers or 'The Sopranos.' We wanted to do the research to see if this disparity was carried throughout Wikipedia." In their research paper, "WP:Clubhouse? An Exploration of Wikipedia's Gender Imbalance," the researchers from the University of Minnesota's GroupLens Research Lab present a scientific exploration of gender imbalance in the English Wikipedia's population of editors.
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