This is indeed a significant proposal, and one that could turn out to be very positive.
In the past, some proposals, like Visual Editor and Media Viewer, that turned out to be unpopular, were touted as being an answer to the gender gap. I fear not much thought was put into these assertions--all the women I know avoid the Visual Editor, and the in-house tests with Media Viewer that happened to be done with women did not show it easy for them to find basic information like image filename, copyright status, or camera info. But still it turned out to be some negative press for the Gender Gap Task Force participants, when they were challenged by some other users to explain these unpopular proposals that they had had nothing to do with. I was looking at the notes for the September metrics meeting, and the conversations surrounding Slide 17, about the how to use the huge leverage of the grants program to achieve movement goals. https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/WMF_Metrics_and_activities_meetings/Quarterly_reviews/Grantmaking/September_2014 There is already a huge grantmaking infrastructure in place, why is it not being used to promote the Foundation's gender goals with those who are already on the ground and involved in the process? It could start very small, merely by adding a section to every grant application for an explanation of how the grant is expected to impact gender diversity. This something that is commonly done for government proposals. If a government entity wants to promote environment standards, they ask for an environmental statement as part of the project proposal. If a project is adjacent to a wetland, they ask for a waterfowl impact statement. A gender statement would do two things: it would help identify programs that are already successful in integrating women into their programs, and it would provide incentive to programs that have not given the question a great deal of thought. This might quite possibly start a valuable dialogue about best practices. How many comments have you seen on Wikipedia by people who think you can make a program attractive to women just by dumbing it down and providing some fluffy bunnies? Getting some of this discussion out into the open and onto the more formal format of a grant proposal might spur a little more realistic thinking about how to promote gender diversity. My personal belief is that you cannot address the problem of gender diversity in a vacuum. It has to be part of a general package: how to attract academics, how to attract male users who have a collaborative work style, how to work with people who edit from work environments that have non-discrimination polices, how to retain the editors you already have. When you can figure out how to make Wikipedia work for these groups, it will work for women as well. On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 1:48 PM, Siko Bouterse <sboute...@wikimedia.org> wrote: > Hi Lightbreather, > One of my hopes is that writing up ideas like yours in IdeaLab during the > campaign could help you better gage interest and opposition to something > like this, as you pointed people to the idea for feedback - one of the > reasons for running a focused, time-bound campaign is to get lots of > eyeballs on issues and solutions from across the movement, as that's been a > helpful strategy for IEG in past rounds. As you laid out the idea and plan > there, you'd hopefully be able to see both endorsing interest from folks > who might find a space like this helpful, and also better understand > broader concerns or policies standing in the way that may or may not have > come up on this mailing list. I've never yet seen a truly innovative idea > that EVERYONE agrees on, of course (in fact, disagreement has sort of > turned into one of my gut-checks for whether something is actually > innovative), but seeing both kinds of perspectives on an IEG proposal > generally helps me decide which experiments are worthwhile funding risks to > take, and which ones simply aren't going to go anywhere. > > On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 10:34 AM, LB <lightbreath...@gmail.com> wrote: > >> I put my name down as a volunteer back in October - October 7, to be >> precise. On New Year's Eve I asked the simple question: Is it possible to >> start a Wikipedia project that's open to women, or people who identify as >> women? >> >> There are a handful of people on this list who are opposed to the idea, >> but I for one would have loved such a thing when I first started actively >> editing. Further, upon reading WP:PROJECT and nothing jumps out at as >> prohibiting a WP:WOMEN project. Sarah Stierch suggested proposing it. >> Heather Walls, who designed the Teahouse, could maybe help to make a >> similar, women-only space? I would be very much interested in helping with >> such a project, but I don't know where to start. >> >> *First thing*, I suppose, would be a broad survey to see if other >> Wikipedia women would be interested in a project tasked by women, for >> women, to recruit, encourage, and support other women editors. *Not* >> about any specific topics, or points-of-view - because I think women's >> interests and POVs are as varied as men's - but to increase the numbers of >> women editing, and to provide a refuge when you just want to talk *with >> other women* about whatever it is you want to talk about that's WP >> related. Because even though I believe we may share interests and POVs with >> men, I think (and the evidence shows) that women *in general* (that is, >> far more women than men) prefer a different communication style than has >> developed here under 85% to 90% male participation. >> >> Lightbreather >> >> On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 11:06 AM, Siko Bouterse <sboute...@wikimedia.org> >> wrote: >> >>> Thanks for putting this out here, Risker. I've been waiting for my blood >>> pressure to drop a bit before posting a happy announcement of the plan to >>> this list :) Glad to hear that folks are excited. I'm really looking >>> forward to what comes next! >>> >>> We're going to need some help to make this first campaign happen, so >>> next week I'll be back with a bit of a more formal ask and some further >>> details about ways to get involved in the pre-campaign planning we're doing >>> in January and February. >>> >>> One thing to think about: we'll want some extra volunteers with >>> gender-gap experience to serve on the committee helping select these >>> grants. If you aren't planning to execute a project yourself, but would >>> like to help others develop ideas into proposals and proposals into grants, >>> please be in touch with me, or join on the project page: >>> >>> >>> https://meta.wikimedia.org/wiki/Grants:IdeaLab/Inspire_Grants_%E2%80%93_Gender_gap_campaign >>> >>> >>> >>> On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 8:36 AM, Sarah Stierch <sarah.stie...@gmail.com> >>> wrote: >>> >>>> Yes! Thank you Risker for the positive energy. This is what I want in >>>> 2015!! >>>> >>>> This is GREAT news!! I can't wait to see what happens. >>>> >>>> -Sarah >>>> >>>> On Tue, Jan 6, 2015 at 8:21 AM, Risker <risker...@gmail.com> wrote: >>>> >>>>> (Changing the perspective on the previous thread a bit) >>>>> >>>>> Well, it's official - the Individual Engagement Grants (IEG) and >>>>> Project & Event Grants (PEG) will be focused almost exclusively for a >>>>> 3-month period on providing financial support and mentorship for requests >>>>> focused specifically at addressing the gender gap. The funding allocated >>>>> - >>>>> $250,000, roughly equivalent to the annual budget of many large chapters - >>>>> is very significant and should help to promote good experimentation >>>>> throughout this area. >>>>> >>>>> If you've been thinking about a project you'd like to organize that is >>>>> specifically gender-gap related, now's the time to start drafting your >>>>> ideas and asking for support from the broader grants and GG community. >>>>> You'll need to describe your idea, set some targets, and collaborate with >>>>> others as a team for the best chance of success. >>>>> >>>>> In particular, IEGs are intended to be experiments, and there's a >>>>> recognition that some are going to be successful, while others (even if >>>>> they look good on paper) are not going to produce results. The key is >>>>> ensuring that there is some learning derived from the experiments. Don't >>>>> be afraid to try something! >>>>> >>>>> Risker/Anne >>>>> >>>>> _______________________________________________ >>>>> Gendergap mailing list >>>>> Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org >>>>> To manage your subscription preferences, including unsubscribing, >>>>> please visit: >>>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap >>>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> >>>> -- >>>> >>>> Sarah Stierch >>>> >>>> ----- >>>> >>>> Diverse and engaging consulting for your organization. >>>> >>>> www.sarahstierch.com >>>> >>>> _______________________________________________ >>>> Gendergap mailing list >>>> Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org >>>> To manage your subscription preferences, including unsubscribing, >>>> please visit: >>>> https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap >>>> >>> >>> >>> >>> -- >>> Siko Bouterse >>> Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. >>> >>> sboute...@wikimedia.org >>> >>> *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in >>> the sum of all knowledge. * >>> *Donate <https://donate.wikimedia.org> or click the "edit" button today, >>> and help us make it a reality!* >>> >>> _______________________________________________ >>> 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 >> > > > > -- > Siko Bouterse > Wikimedia Foundation, Inc. > > sboute...@wikimedia.org > > *Imagine a world in which every single human being can freely share in the > sum of all knowledge. * > *Donate <https://donate.wikimedia.org> or click the "edit" button today, > and help us make it a reality!* > > _______________________________________________ > Gendergap mailing list > Gendergap@lists.wikimedia.org > To manage your subscription preferences, including unsubscribing, please > visit: > https://lists.wikimedia.org/mailman/listinfo/gendergap >
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