Increasing representation of renowned Lithuanian women on Wikipedia
On March 8, Permanent delegation of the Republic of Lithuania to UNESCO, in collaboration with the Lithuanian National Commission for UNESCO took part in the “Wiki4Women“ initiative. In celebration of International Women‘s Day, numerous Wikipedia articles have been created, enriched or translated with the view to increase women‘s representation in the digital sphere.
UNESCO Member States, its staff, organizational partners, students and civil society organisations were invited to take part in creating, enriching and translating to various languages the Wikipedia profiles of the prominent women from the fields of education, science, culture, communication and information, sports, . Sessions on the Wikipedia profiles were held at UNESCO Headquarters in Paris as well as in other cities, namely Bangkok, Delhi, Almaty, Cairo, Lima and Buenos Aires.
"Organized by UNESCO in co-operation with Wikimedia for a second consecutive year, this annual “Wiki4Women“ initiative helps to reduce the numeric disparity between the biographies of women and men on Wikipedia. Amongst 25 000 daily entries, only 18 percent of all biographies are dedicated for women,“ – noted Permanent Delegate of the Republic of Lithuania to UNESCO, Ambassador Irena Vaišvilaitė.
During the session in Paris, the following profiles of renowned Lithuanian women were created, enriched or translated: journalist Magdalena Avietėnaitė, chess grandmaster Viktorija Čmilytė-Nielsen, archeologist and anthropologist Marija Gimbutas, oncologist Laima Griciūtė, Chairperson of the United Nations Committee on the Elimination of Discrimination Against Women (CEDAW) Dalia Leinartė, neurologist Urtė Neniškytė and writer Žemaitė. Some of these newly created entries, however, will only become public once authorized by accredited Wikipedia‘s content managers.
