(Please set yourself as task assignee of this session)
- Title of session: A discussion on challenges and approach towards improving women in technical spaces in local Wiki communities
- Session description: The participation of women contributors on WIkimedia in general are focussed on addressing the gender, skill and knowledge gaps. To improve the participation of women more widely across MediaWiki and technical trainings in local language WIkimedia communities needs attention. Furthermore, access to resources, improving projects related to/on women, approaching mentors, access to safe spaces etc., are various factors that needs to be structured. Join me to address the gaps, understand the challenges and discuss on the approach towards improving more women participation in technical spaces in local language Wikimedia communities.
- Username for contact: Bhuvana Meenakshi
- Session duration (25 or 50 min): 25 min
- Session type (presentation, workshop, discussion, etc.): discussion
- Language of session (English, Arabic, etc.): English
- Prerequisites (some Python, etc.):
- Any other details to share?:
- Interested? Add your username below:
Post-event etherpad copy
A discussion on challenges and approach towards improving women in technical spaces in local wiki communities
Date and time: May 5, 2024 14:30
Relevant links
- Phabricator task: https://phabricator.wikimedia.org/T364256
- Session slides:
- (any more?)
Presenter
[[User:Bhuvana Meenakshi|Bhuvana_Meenakshi]]
Participants
- [[User:Hiperterminal]]
Notes
Group name: Women in Tech collectives India
Women in local region, to work together. Also, exploring on neuro diversity in India. This happens in a semi rural environment. How to bring more women into technology.
Knowledge repository for women.
How to be part of global forums like Wikimedia events. How to make Internet open to all. Is not just about coding, but also bringing more women to tech, for example mentoring. mentoring on local languages. How do we overcome barriers?
Some women from the region can not travel. Impositive care to family. You need to convince to your family why you should participate in events. Safety aspects, safe protocols for onlyne and offline participation.
Make tech an accessible space.
How to enhance the participation and presence of women online?
Keep track to hear back from the community. How women can sustain this kind of projects? Spaces are dominated by men mainly. For example, Wikipedia editing. Women groups.
Event: celebrating women's day. [1]
[1] https://diff.wikimedia.org/2024/05/03/womens-day-celebrations-2024-sheleads-and-witc/
How the gaps exist in women's health sector: science. How women can apply or participate into academic or tech events.
One of the initiatives from the WITCI is DEWI (Develop and Empower Women Interest in Tech)
How to start with open source?
Worked in 2 or 3 cities with difficult access to promote the engage of women in technology.
Title of the research: Bridging the Gender gap: A report on Indian Language Wikimedia Communities [2]
Insights on how the local communities work, and how women requirements are different from global understanding.
Safe spaces for contribution for local language communities of women. Diverse forums. Are the contributions being recognized in Wiki world?
How do we address the imposter syndrome? Post-it activity. Hear about our experiences. How do we address this?
Common observation from community members: bringing different mentors. How to get started? Tech field is big, so the question is how to get started?
- In our community what worked was healthy spaces, the environment. Women trained in Barcelona about interviews. Explaining and change the mind set. Learning experiences. Space for fail. Keep telling and repetition process. Some people may said "I was waiting for more" but is this the way.
- Tech community. I assume the imposter syndrome make you quiet. This invited to be invisible.
- Girls with code. Is not imposter syndrom, is horror to fail. People are humans, is not only you who is failing.
- Talk openly about our knowledge gaps. I don't use the word "manager" because I don't want to manage. Change the expectations, this is not a purely competition space. Being open to learning.
- Introduce capacity building. Creating safe spaces.
- Encoraging people to try to get to where you want to be.
- Acomplishments. Take one step and then see how it goes. Safe space. It soesn't need to be in the tech space. If you have achievements in other fields, you can bring them too.
- We fail, we took wrong steps, cry but keep moving.
- Learning experience journing. Appreciate women's work.
Post it to the board.
Tools and resources for women related/specific projects on Wiki
Wiki Women in Red. Infobox. Women's projects. Bring together the needs of communities, specificly on women related projects.
- Outreaching. Projects for the women. Edithatons? - Projects more into calling.
- Looking on Phabricator for accesibility, there are some. Is not the same for women related.
- There is a tag on Phabricator. Review patches.
Women's health project. Create a Dashboard. We look for women to know how to do this. On boarding is a challenge, for newcommers.
Wiki Women in Tech. Women in Wikimedia. Women in Wikimedia Programme. Women and leadership.
Safety measures while contributing to MediaWiki projects
Knowing about guidelines, protocols. Reporting potential problematic scenarios. Specially in the Wiki environment.
What links we need to look at, to be informed.
Germany. A group helping to each others. FemNetz [3]
[3] https://de.wikipedia.org/wiki/Wikipedia:WikiProjekt_FemNetz
The way forward is not just about increasing women participation on Wiki but also bringing a diversity in tech spaces for everyone to contribute and learn together