[Gendergap] How to increase the diversity of Wikimedia technical contributors and staff?
I read the unofficial Google internal memo that has been the subject of
some controversy, and upon reading it my Wikipedian-trained instincts were
to wonder where the citations were that should, if they were available,
have supported numerous assertions that were made in that memo. I'm not an
expert in diversity -- and I suspect that the author of that memo isn't,
either. In the absence of verifiable and reliable sources, I'm skeptical of
numerous assertions that were made in that document.
This leads me a question that I've had in mind for awhile. How can we
increase the diversity of Wikimedia technical contributors and staff? I'm
referring both to gender diversity and racial diversity (people of African
descent appear to be significantly under-represented).
My unscientific hunch is that what would help is increasing people at young
ages to consider a career in a science, technology, engineering, or math
("STEM") field, and then continuing to support their interest from
elementary school through college.
(Personal story: I was a poor performer at math in middle school and at one
point I emotionally gave up on the subject, yet I did significantly better
when I reached college and (a) had instructors whose styles were more
compatible with how I learn and (b) had classroom environments that were
more supportive of learning.)
I don't know to what extent Wikimedia should be involved in encouraging
people at early ages to become interested and stay involved with STEM, and
I think that we should ask ourselves if perhaps this is an area in which we
should make some financial and time investments, with the goal of
facilitating development of diverse candidates into engineering and
technical roles for the community as well as organizations like WMDE and
WMF. We probably shouldn't be steering people at young ages to make
long-term commitments to STEM or the Wikimedia ecosystem, but perhaps we
could take some actions that would at least encourage them if they seem to
be interested in STEM to continue their academic growth in those domains. I
don't know if there is data that explains how gender and racial disparities
develop and how to address them, but my hunch is that the earlier that the
issues are addressed, the better.
I don't know what other options to suggest; perhaps people here will have
some ideas. I'd particularly like to invite Victoria to the conversation;
perhaps she can comment sometime in the next several days (probably not for
several hours, since this is still Sunday evening on the US west coast).
Hoping to hear some thoughtful discussion,
Pine
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Re: [Gendergap] FYI - GGTF case appeal
When you say professionals, in what specific capacity are they being recruited? Who is requiring them to sign an NDA? The Foundation? Their employers? I've worked with a number of Wikipedians in Residence and professionals at US cultural institutions, and I know some of them well enough to feel confident that I'd know of such a thing if they were forced to sign something like this. (Many people working with the private data of editors are required by the Foundation to sign a confidentiality agreement, but that agreement only extends to that data. I've signed it myself. I believe a copy of this agreement is publicly available somewhere. Meta?) If this NDA requirement is true it deserves to be publicly exposed in the interests of transparency. If it's not true, it's a distraction from the real problems that exist in this community and enables those opposed to eliminating those problems to point to false claims in an attempt to dismiss attention towards those problems. If anyone has one of these NDAs, please send it to me privately, anonymously if you wish, and I will take the appropriate steps to expose them. On Sun, Aug 6, 2017 at 11:08 PM, Neotarf wrote: > I have heard that professional women are being recruited for Wikipedia, > women whose employers would ordinarily be expected to protect them from a > 'hostile work place', but they are being required to post their real > identities on their talk pages, along with the names of their employers. > and a COI form statement. They are also required to sign a non-disclosure > agreement that prevents them from revealing any harassment they experience > in Wikipedia, or from even revealing they have been required to sign an > NDA. > ___ Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org To manage your subscription preferences, including unsubscribing, please visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
Re: [Gendergap] FYI - GGTF case appeal
I doubt very much whether anyone who has been paying attention to this thread still thinks it's about me. The problems with arbcom have been very public since at least the 2015 Wikiconference USA. [1] But JJ Marr does have a point. The Arbcom does label this a "finding of fact", although the WMF is probably more likely to regard it as a 'poorly written personal opinion' of the arbitrators who signed their names to it, at least from a legal standpoint. But the arbitration committee does not have any standard for "fact", as WP does with BLP. The arbitration committee, with a few exceptions, is mostly very young and inexperienced with life and work, and has no training at all with arbitration or dispute resolution. The only tool they are given as part of their remit to resolve disputes is to publicly humiliate and embarrass volunteers who have given their time to the project. The result is that anyone who has ever objected to harassment on Wikipedia has been driven off, either by arbitration or by doxing. One of the problems is this non-consensual sodomy thing that's making the rounds. This kind of talk is very normalized in some areas of Wikipedia, for instance in the back rooms of the Signpost when I was there it was a standing joke. It's one thing though if consenting adult men are using Wikipedia to hook up with each other, but the problem is that older men are telling younger men that this is the way to impress women, and the younger men believe them, they just don't know. Women who do not want to interact on these terms, with individuals who are quite probably minors, are being silenced. I have heard that professional women are being recruited for Wikipedia, women whose employers would ordinarily be expected to protect them from a 'hostile work place', but they are being required to post their real identities on their talk pages, along with the names of their employers. and a COI form statement. They are also required to sign a non-disclosure agreement that prevents them from revealing any harassment they experience in Wikipedia, or from even revealing they have been required to sign an NDA. These women will join Wikipedia, and listen to the pitch and eat the bagels, and Wikipedia gets to count them as female editors, but very few of them go on to make that second edit, because it's their professional reputation on the line. If Wikipedia wants women editors they are going to have to come to terms with this. [1] https://en.wikisource.org/wiki/Danielle_Citron_speaks_at_WikiConference_USA_2015 On Sun, Jul 16, 2017 at 11:02 PM, Johanna-Hypatia Cybeleia < johanna.hypa...@gmail.com> wrote: > JJ Marr, I hate to be the one who walks into a conversation late and asks > "What are you talking about?" —especially since you're going to stop > talking about it now, but... I searched all through the archives of this > list in my mail, but so far am none the wiser... > > On Sat, Jul 15, 2017 at 10:10 PM, JJ Marr wrote: > >> >> Maybe it would be better for the mailing list if we stopped talking about >> this? Just a suggestion. >> > > > -- > __ > I have been woman > for a long time > beware my smile > > --Audre Lorde > > ___ > Gendergap mailing list > Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org > To manage your subscription preferences, including unsubscribing, please > visit: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap > ___ Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org To manage your subscription preferences, including unsubscribing, please visit: https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
