Wikimedia Spain and Yes We Tech are launching a network of female STEM editors on Wikipedia

The future Yes We Tech network of editors has been launched as an initiative driven by Yes We Tech and Wikimedia Spain to promote the creation and improvement of content about women scientists and technologists on Wikipedia. Through the “Women in STEM: training in Wikimedia projects” programme, both organisations sought to help reduce the gender gap that still persists on the internet and in the spaces where knowledge is constructed.

The initial references added were selected from the “Damos con la tecla” handbook, developed by Yes We Tech this year to continue creating and strengthening female role models and to foster new STEM vocations.

The programme combined training, digital activism and collaborative work through an inaugural conference and several editing workshops aimed at the Yes We Tech community. In total, around 50 people took part in both activities and, to date, the participants have created or improved 10 articles related to women in STEM.

A first step towards building a network of female tech entrepreneurs

On 9 April, the event “Activation: Women in STEM on Wikipedia” took place, bringing together 25 attendees and marking the launch of a meeting place for women interested in contributing to the creation of free knowledge.

More than just a conference, the event was an invitation to collective action and digital empowerment: an opportunity to claim a space for women in the world’s largest encyclopaedia and lay the foundations for a future network of Yes We Tech editors committed to diversity and the representation of knowledge.

During the session, we were joined by Mentxu Ramilo Araujo, a member of the Board of Directors of Wikimedia Spain, whose experience as a Wikimedian was key to guiding and motivating the participants in this first introduction to Wikipedia.

Throughout the conference, Mentxu reminded us that Wikipedia “is not just a website, but the world’s most important platform for collective intelligence”, also emphasising that editing can be understood as a form of activism. In this regard, she emphasised the importance of organising ourselves to document the contributions of women in STEM and to bring linguistic and local diversity to free knowledge, thereby preventing “our history from continuing to be written by others and from biased perspectives”.

Editing workshops to learn, collaborate and create content

On 10 April, a series of practical Wikipedia editing workshops began, attended by 23 women from the Yes We Tech community.

During the sessions, participants learnt the fundamental principles of Wikipedia, such as notability, verifiability and neutrality, as well as taking their first steps in creating and improving articles and gaining an understanding of how the editing community works.

These workshops aimed to go beyond technical training and foster collaborative links among women interested in generating free knowledge and combating the historical invisibility of women in STEM.

So far, the group has worked on creating and improving 10 articles related to women scientists and technologists, thereby helping to reduce the gender gap on Wikipedia and expand the diversity of content available in Spanish.

Likewise, a WhatsApp community of 26 women Wikipedia editors has been established, emerging from the talk and workshops, and it remains active as a space for support and collaboration.

A partnership for free and diverse knowledge

The collaboration between Wikimedia Spain and Yes We Tech highlighted the potential of partnerships to promote a more diverse, inclusive and representative internet.

Initiatives such as “Women in STEM: training in Wikimedia projects” not only help to add new content to Wikipedia, but also create opportunities for more women to get involved in collaborative editing and actively participate in the creation of open knowledge.

Mentxuwiki, CC BY-SA 4.0,