Okay, so I've put my name down for the gender bias task force (Professor Strassmann is already a member).
I also wanted to say that, I get a sense from a number of these threads that it is not just a case of finding projects / ambassadors / systems etc. to tackle the issue, but also a language to communicate in, a language that 'frames' the debate. For instance, in the recent debates concerning making Michele Merkin glamour model photo 'picture of the day' how much simpler would it have been to say, "Oppose: I am supporter of feminist economics (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_economics ) and the capability approach (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Capabilities_approach ) and I feel having this image as POTD is an attack on both and therefore it would breach NPOV." I've been creating articles relating to feminist economics for a while now, mostly blps, but also one for the International Association for Feminist Economics (IAFFE). Professor Strassmann and Professor Berik are co-editors of the peer-reviewed journal "Feminist Economics" (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Feminist_Economics_%28journal%29 ). There is an emphasis in the topic on how women are perceived, including self-perception, how that translates to the amount of say they have in decision-making, bargaining power, and their well-being. In the early days of feminist economic discussions it was used to figure out what was happening to women in the developing world. An example narrative might be - a woman in India who makes cloth bags and her husband sells them, in an interview she says, "Without my husband I would starve." She says this because he sells the bags, the truth is it is an equal partnership, if she didn't make the bags in the first place then he would starve. If both she and her husband regard him as the important one then it has a knock-on effect to the distribution of the income / food / resources in their household. Feminist economic theory, however, can be applied wherever women have to negotiate, so the work of feminist economists has moved on over the years to be applied to discussions in developed countries as well. Crucially, from the point of view of the discussions that we have been having in these threads, there is an accepted idea within feminist economics that the sexualization of the media and gender stereotyping have negative connotations for women and girls, to the point of dehumanizing women and being a cause of violence (see recommendations 134-136 pages 38 and 39, in this report http://www.unwomen.org/~/media/Headquarters/Attachments/Sections/Library/Publications/2012/11/Report-of-the-EGM-on-Prevention-of-Violence-against-Women-and-Girls.pdf by the 57th session of the Commission on the Status of Women, CSW57, which focussed on preventing violence to women). Just a few months ago, Rashida Manjoo, the United Nations Special Rapporteur on Violence Against Women*, visited the UK and said that the UK has a "boys' club sexist culture" which leads to negative perceptions about women and girls, and that it was of the worst "in-your-face" examples that she had seen in all the countries she had visited. http://www.theguardian.com/world/2014/apr/15/un-special-rapporteur-manjoo-yarls-wood-home-office So having an interest in feminist economics (being pro-feminist economics) effectively translates as being in favour of a number of things: education of women including sex education (so accusations prudishness are unfounded); development ethics; a global perspective (which Wikipedia strives to achieve); ending violence against women and girls; and a whole host of other gender and development issues. With this in mind I've created a template for those interested: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Template:User_feminist_economics ...and, a category to go with it (a sub-category of "Wikipedians interested in economics"): https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Category:Wikipedians_interested_in_feminist_economics Articles that are related to feminist economics: * Feminist economics * Capability approach * Gender Empowerment Measure * Gender-related Development Index * Gender inequality * Intra-household bargaining * Inequality of bargaining power * Feminization of poverty People might also be interested in section 3. of this article by the Nobel Prize winner Amartya Sen http://www.nybooks.com/articles/archives/1990/dec/20/more-than-100-million-women-are-missing/?page=2 Marie Date: Thu, 26 Jun 2014 12:18:05 -0400 From: carolmoor...@verizon.net To: gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org Subject: Re: [Gendergap] Wikiproject? ...Threads on various issues On 6/26/2014 11:32 AM, Sarah wrote: Hi Carol, we had a ruling from the ArbCom during the Chelsea Manning case that said : " Wikipedia editors and readers come from a diverse range of backgrounds, including with respect to their race, ethnicity, national origin, religion, sex or gender, sexual orientation, and gender identity or expression. Comments that demean fellow editors, an article subject, or any other person, on the basis of any of these characteristics are offensive and damage the editing environment for everyone. Such comments, particularly when extreme or repeated after a warning, are grounds for blocking or other sanctions. " That could be used to stop sexist comments. *Thanks for reminding us of that principles statement in the "Sexology" Arbitration and that certainly can be brought up during an ANI. I got the impression that only things mentioned under "Discretionary sanctions applicable" could automatically be applied by any willing admin. In this case it applies to "all articles dealing with transgender issues" ...any dispute regarding the proper article title, pronoun usage, or other manner of referring to any individual known to be or self-identifying as transgender..." However, recently I *think* I saw a male editor blocked for some snotty comment to another male editor based only on the editor's complaint to an admin. However, having had trouble getting an admin to enforce a Community Sanction for a long list of harassment related diffs, I have to wonder if maybe I missed the relevant ANI that got the guy blocked. Or if the complaining editor just has more friends in high places willing to do a block for him. Still unclear... Also, bear in mind that the Wikipedia:WikiProject Countering systemic bias/Gender bias task force can be whatever we want it to be. It doesn't have to focus only on articles. If you want to become active there, posting links or whatever else would help, that would be great. I'd be very willing to help out too. *Well, then let those us of us who have been vocal here should meet there and see what happens!! :-) CM _______________________________________________ Gendergap mailing list Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap
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