Gender bias in the collaborative production of knowledge: Wikipedias case

• Grant number: 22/12814-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: January 01, 2023
• End date: December 31, 2023
• Field of knowledge: Applied Social Sciences - Information Science - Library and Information Science
• Principal Investigator: Maria José Vicentini Jorente
• Grantee: Isabela Correa Macena
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Filosofia e Ciências (FFC). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Marília. Marília , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Gender inequality is a structural phenomenon with complex roots, instituted socially and culturally. For a long time, it has been conditioned on women to only do the housework and, although this has evolved thoroughly, the presence of women in areas marketed as masculine is still very deprived. That also happens in collaborative encyclopedias. Wikipedia, while one of the most accessed websites in Brazil, still faces very little gender representation. Besides the lack of women amongst its collaborators, it's also possible to notice a gap in content about women, as in its biographies. This study aims to analyze Wikipedia's existing projects to diminish gender bias in the platform. The methodology used is theoretical-explanatory and descriptive, based on the literature review and analysis of the mentioned projects. This research is justified by the need for studies of gender issues in the scope of information, focusing on Wikipedia's case. The result is a better understanding of how Wikipedia's proposed solutions seek to stimulate women to collaborate on the writing of the articles, through the analysis of the specific characteristics of each project, for the purpose of contributing to the scientific production on gender issues in collaborative projects in digital midias.