Summary

  • Finale of BBC 100 Women season features international edit-a-thon #100WomenWiki

  • Highest number of entries about women added to Wikipedia in a single event, with more than 400 new or updated profiles

  • Figures before the event show around 17% of notable profiles on Wikipedia are of women

  • Just 15% of Wikipedia's volunteer editors are female

  • 'Really important' to get more women involved, says Wikipedia founder Jimmy Wales

  1. Welcome to Wikipedia, Radhika Menonpublished at 17:12 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Radhika Menon

    Radhika Menon has been working since 1996 to bring local stories and fiction to children in multiple languages across India. 

    Indian children now have access to literature in English, Hindi, Tamil, Telegu, Malayalam, Bengali, Kannada, Marathi and Gujarati languages thanks to her publishing house.

    Here's her new Wikipedia page, external, put together by a BBC Hindi team.

    BBC Hindi team working at laptop
  2. Journalism students join edit-a-thonpublished at 17:02 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

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  3. 100 Women edit-a-thon: What's going on?published at 16:49 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    If you're just joining us: 

    • The BBC's 100 Women season is all about recognising notable women 
    • But fewer than 17% of profiles on Wikipedia are of women  
    • So you are invited to create or expand articles about women on the site today
    • More than 400 profiles have been added or edited so far
    • People are joining in at events in Istanbul, Cairo, Dhaka, Jerusalem, Delhi, Abuja, London, Cardiff and more. But if you're inspired, you can do this from home.
    • Let us know who you're adding using #100womenwiki or email us at bbc100.women@bbc.co.uk.    

    Illustration
  4. Dancer & activist: 'Dance is a political act'published at 16:47 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Sheema KirmaniImage source, Shakil Adil/AP

    Sheema Kirmani is a classical dancer, performer and social activist. She describes herself as a feminist and Marxist. 

    She says “Dance is a means of communication and a political act”. 

    She founded Tehrik-e-Niswan (The Women’s Movement) in Pakistan to raise awareness about the plight of women.

    Here's her new Wikipedia page, external.

  5. Graffiti artist editor: 'She is a real example'published at 16:23 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Bahia Shehab was made famous during the Egyptian revolution in 2011, when former President Hosni Mubarak was forced to resign. She painted the word 'no' across the streets of Cairo. 

    She has gone on to spread her message of using art as a form of protest across the world.

    Bahia has a done a TED Talk, external, she was profiled by the Huffington Post, external, and the BBC has published a gallery of her graffiti.

    But until today she didn't have a Wikipedia page.

    That has changed, and here is the new profile, external. Ione Wells, who nominated her and wrote the page, said: "She is a real example of someone who can channel anger into a positive art form."

    Bahia Shehab's graffitiImage source, Bahia Shehab
  6. Is the internet sexist, asks World Have Your Saypublished at 16:18 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Presenter and guests before the show

    The World Have Your Say programme is taking calls on whether the internet is sexist.

    Presenter Chloe Tilley (on the left in the photograph above) is joined by guests Danielle Newnham, an author, Elizabeth Fremantle, novelist, Aoife Wilson, video games journalist, June Eric-Udorie, activist, and Jenny Kleeman, documentary-maker.

    You can listen here and join in the debate.

  7. Male Wikipedia editor's account suspended in Turkeypublished at 16:04 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    There have been a lot of positive reactions to our 100 Women edit-a-thon. But some BBC teams have also faced resistance and abuse from those who don't agree with the women being added. 

    BBC Turkish reporter Rengin Arslan tells us what happened after nine profiles were added to Wikipedia Turkish. After the team did a Facebook Live about the entries, more and more people heard about the event, she says. It wasn't long before a male Wikipedia editor got in touch. 

    "He complained about each of our entries by saying they are not 'notable' despite the fact that some others appeared in other languages before Turkish," says Rengin.

    "Wikipedia's Turkey team helped us to sort out this problem and he was suspended of being an editor for six months."

    She said one of the BBC's guests was also "harassed by a terrible image sent to her Wiki account message box". But as she was a woman journalist, she said, "This was not the first time".

    "At the end of the day I am delighted to see there is a discussion on the Wikipedia Turkish page about what we have done," says Rengin.

  8. Civil rights activist in 'legendary' protest photo addedpublished at 16:00 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Ieshia Evans is detained by law enforcement officers as she protests the shooting death of Alton SterlingImage source, REUTERS/Jonathan Bachman

    The woman whose picture at a Black Lives Matter protest was hailed as "legendary" is now included in Wikipedia.

    Ieshia Evans was photographed calmly standing in front of two heavily body-armoured police officers in Baton Rouge, Louisiana, in July, at a protest after a man called Alton Sterling was shot dead.

    She was nominated by Janice Molyneux, who said: "When I found out only 17 percent of women were on Wikipedia I was shocked. I wanted to do something positive to redress the balance."

    Read Ms Evans' page here, external.

  9. Susie Rodgers updates teammate's profilepublished at 15:37

    Susie Rodgers, holding a sign with the name Amy Marren on it

    Ah, the Rio Summer Games. Such a blur of excitement.

    It seems that after the blur, some key lines are missing from the Wikipedia record.

    Take Amy Marren. She won bronze for Team GB in Paralympic swimming, but the medal wasn't mentioned on her profile on the online encyclopaedia.

    Until now.

    And who set the record straight? Her teammate, Susie Rodgers, being a good egg. Here's the amplified page., external

  10. Code-breaking 'pioneer' cracks Wikipediapublished at 15:37 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Helen Nibouar was influential in code breaking during World War Two.

    Her brand new page, external includes the nugget that she hadn't planned to become a cryptographer, but was recruited at a water fountain by a woman who encouraged her to "give cryptography a try".

    Helen NibouarImage source, Layli Foroudi

    She was nominated by businesswoman Dame Stephanie Shirley, external who said: "We're all very conscious of the value of coding in World War Two and here is one of the pioneers."

  11. CNN correspondent nominates orchestra directorpublished at 15:27 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Picture of Christiane Amanpour with words "She works tirelessly to empower and equalise women's lives! I am astounded that someone of Kathryn's proven talents and attributes was not yet in Wikipedia, therefore we want to correct that."

    The broadcasting network CNN's chief international correspondent, Christiane Amanpour, wants Kathryn McDowell to have her own Wikipedia entry.

    Kathryn is the managing director of the London Symphony Orchestra and has worked in many community projects. She was made a CBE for services to music in 2011.

  12. Recognition for Syrian engineer specialising in renewable energypublished at 15:13 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Illustration of Sirin Hamsho by Vicky BassImage source, Vicky Bass

    BBC Arabic's Areej Zayat has chosen Syrian engineer Sirin Hamsho as her nominee for a new Wikipedia profile.

    Sirin Hamsho specialises in renewable energy and patented a design for wind turbines in 2015 at the age of 30.

    "Sirin is a good example of a young Syrian woman who has given to the world at a time when Syrians are looked down on," says Areej.

  13. 99-year-old classicist recognised by TV historianpublished at 15:07

    Historian Tessa Dunlop, external is writing a book called The Century Girls about women born before females in the UK were allowed to vote.

    She has chosen to edit the Wikipedia page of classicist Dr Joyce Reynolds who appears in her book. Dr Reynolds is nearly 100 years old and still working today. Here's her Wikipedia page, external.

    Tessa Dunlop
  14. Wikipedia pages about women adding uppublished at 15:01 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    We're starting to really see the effects of the 100 Women edit-a-thon on Wikipedia around the world.

    Contributors in Bangladesh are among those who have been hard at work.

    BBC graphic saying "70+ profiles of women added to Wikipedia across Bangladesh"
  15. Welsh Bake Off contestant joins Wikipediapublished at 14:43

    The first edit-a-thon entry today for a Great British Bake Off contestant?

    Welsh cook and food writer Beca Lyne-Pirkis has a cookery show on SC4 (Channel Four Wales) and appeared on GBBO in 2013.

    Her Wikipedia entry, external was created by BBC Wales weather presenter Behnaz Akhgar. 

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  16. Wikipedia profiles in Welsh are 42% femalepublished at 14:39 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Wikipedia in the Welsh language has an unusually high proportion of women's profiles.

    A Wikipedia spokesman has told the BBC the gender breakdown of the 14,204 profiles in Welsh is as follows:

    • 6,080 female
    • 8,119 male
    • 4 transgender female
    • 1 transgender male

    That compares to less than 17% worldwide.

  17. British birth control advocate addedpublished at 14:38 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    As well as the people taking part in the edit-a-thon on site at the BBC's London headquarters and around the world, anyone can add profiles from their own computer.

    Contributor Margaret Brown has written a biography of social reformer and birth control advocate Margery Spring Rice. You can read her article here, external.

    Commenting about the experience on Twitter, Margaret Brown said "it was great because I learned lot more about her."

  18. BBC Director-General nominates arts executivepublished at 14:36

    Tony Hall photo, with words "Andrea's a visionary who excites and inspires people around her. She can turn a creative idea into a multi-million pound investment."

    The BBC's Director-General, Tony Hall, has made his own nomination for a new profile.

    He wants British arts executive Andrea Stark to be added. Calling her a "visionary" he says: "Her track record deserves recognition - and its own Wiki page."

  19. 'Beyonce songwriter deserves to be recognised'published at 14:29 Greenwich Mean Time 8 December 2016

    Radio 1 DJ Adele Roberts, external nominates Carla Marie Williams to go on Wikipedia. 

    She's a British singer-songwriter who has been nominated for two Grammy awards. Her songs include Freedom, which was performed by Beyonce.

    Adele Roberts with her nomination
    Quote Message

    I really love her music and think she is really talented – she deserves to be recognised

    Adele Roberts