Discussions/Women and Gender gap : the way forward

From Wikimania 2016 • Esino Lario, Italy

The Discussion Room is a space for open and facilitated discussions at Wikimania. Participation of the audience in the session is critical, because there are no speakers, and there is no expert panel!

You can find a full overview of the discussion topics on the Discussion Room main page. Please note: there is limited seating available, and we're not saving any seats! Please be on time, but feel free to join during the midway break between two discussions.

Practical facts

Topic
Making Things Happen - articulating the way forward for women and gender gap.
Date & Time
Sunday 11.15–11.55, 26 June 2016
Notes
https://etherpad.wikimedia.org/p/Wikimania2016-discussion6c
Facilitator
Rosiestep & Anthere
Venue
Primary School

Format

The Discussion Rooms host discussions with a specific style:

  • Discussions of 40 minutes each;
  • Clearly defined topic for each discussion, related to Wikimedia;
  • Aiming to reach pre-defined goals during the discussion;
  • Discussions take place in English;
  • Discussions are moderated by a facilitator;
  • There is no audience as everybody is expected to participate in discussions, and everybody is audience;
  • Key lessons and points are documented live on etherpad, and may be processed later;
  • Each discussion will come with a single recommendation of maximum 120 characters.

Each discussion targets specifically online Wikimedia projects, it lasts 40 minutes and it starts with a short 2-3 minutes introduction.

To set the tone of our discussions, we have three rules:

  • Focus on YOU. We are interested in discussing and triggering individual action, things people can personally do and change to improve our Wikimedia projects and movement. We trust the discussion can be much more interesting if we do not focus on what others should do ("the others", Wikimedia chapters and Wikimedia Foundation).
  • Be constructive and polite. Disagreements animate discussions and they can allow us to unfold all issues related to a topic. Let's avoid personal attacks, let's consider that we have different backgrounds and let's aim at making everybody comfortable in sharing their legitimate point of view.
  • Be short and on topic. Let's create space for everyone to express his/her opinion.


Introduction

Description

This is a community-oriented discussion regarding key issues and action items affecting women and gender gap.

In this discussion, topics will include:

  • Stovepiped gender gap communication. Discuss: known wiki communication channels (Wikipedia talkpages, Wikimedia talkpages, Wikiproject talkpages, etc.) and social media channels (e.g. FB, Twitter, Telegram, Skype). Proposed outcomes: (1) Identify a dedicated communication channel -an internet forum- to unify the stovepipes. (2) Identify common topics to address in the dedicated communication channel (promotion of articles created, editathons, grants; harvesting redlinks cross-wiki; notability; reliable sources; tech tools beyond WIGI; research; tips&tricks)
  • Development of a thematic conference. Discuss: draft agenda; possible date(s), location(s), funding sources; participants; communication plan. Proposed outcome: commitment to an international content gender gap thematic conference with an outline of how to make it happen.
Targeted Participants
  • New and experienced Wikipedians interested in the topic
Do you want to read up on the topic? Some suggested reading (not required to participate!)

(This discussion topic is based mostly on this proposal: 'Women and Gender Gap : the way forward')

Interested attendees