Ryerson Alumni - Summer 2013 - (Page 23)

aLuMnI pRofiles Welcoming women to WikiPEdiA sUe GARdneR BRidGes GendeR GAp AmonG ediToRs of online encyclopediA By shARon AschAiek Photo By VictoRiA WiLL, FRoM WikiMEdiA coMMonS, cc By SA 3.0 T he world of Wikipedia is brought to us by mainly men. Sue Gardner, Journalism ’90, says that should change. Closing the gender gap among those who voluntarily edit the free online encyclopedia has been a key goal for Gardner, current executive director of the Wikimedia Foundation, the San Francisco-based non-profit that funds Wikipedia and its family of Wiki websites. That may not happen under her watch, since she recently announced plans to leave the organization by this fall. But, she says, the fact that women make up only 10 per cent of Wikipedia’s 12,000 most active contributors is problematic. “If women are so dramatically underrepresented among Wikipedia editors, then we are going to miss a lot of the world’s information,” says Gardner, whose goal has been to increase the female population of Wikipedians to 25 per cent by 2015. Before joining Wikimedia in 2007, the 45-year-old Port Hope, Ont.-native built a productive career at the CBC, where she worked as a radio reporter, news website producer and, at her apex, senior director of CBC.ca. At Wikimedia, Gardner significantly boosted the organization’s staff and donations — under her stewardship, the latter increased to $23 million in 2011 from $3 million in 2007. She also worked to make Wikipedia more accessible in Africa, South Asia and the Middle East. Her accomplishments landed her on Forbes Magazine’s 2012 World’s Most Powerful Women list. To make Wikipedia more femalefriendly, Gardner partnered with universities to connect with female students. She also encouraged Wikipedians to invite their female peers to contribute. As women are generally underrepresented in technology — 2012 research by Women in Global Science & Technology shows fewer than 30 per cent of computer science, engineering and physics workers worldwide are women — Gardner also serves on the board of The Ada Initiative, a non-profit seeking to increase the participation of women in technology. Says Gardner: “Technology is shaping our experience of the world and its social impact is huge, so it’s so important for women to be represented.” n ShARon ASchAiEk (ShARon@ cocoAMEdiA.cA) WRitES ABoUt highER EdUcAtion iSSUES, tREndS And gRAdUAtES. S U M M E R 2013 • Ryerson University Magazine 23  http://www.CBC.ca

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Ryerson Alumni - Summer 2013

Ryerson Alumni - Summer 2013
President's Message
Showcase
Gould Street
Hello, World
Learning for Life
Board Q & A
Welcoming Women to Wikipedia
Super Scholar
Readers' Advocate
Research: The Science of Sweet and Salty
Giving Back
Alumni Diary / VP Viewpoint
Class Notes
Remember When?

Ryerson Alumni - Summer 2013

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