Gender and the invisibility of care on Wikipedia

Ford, H; Pietsch, T; Tall, K

Gender and the invisibility of care on Wikipedia

Ford, H

Pietsch, T

Tall, K

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Publisher:: SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
Publication Type:: Journal Article
Citation:: Big Data and Society, 2023, 10, (2)
Issue Date:: 2023-07-01

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Field	Value	Language
dc.contributor.author	Ford, H https://orcid.org/0000-0002-3500-9772
dc.contributor.author	Pietsch, T https://orcid.org/0000-0002-8304-7108
dc.contributor.author	Tall, K https://orcid.org/0000-0002-7876-4460
dc.date.accessioned	2024-01-08T00:35:39Z
dc.date.available	2024-01-08T00:35:39Z
dc.date.issued	2023-07-01
dc.identifier.citation	Big Data and Society, 2023, 10, (2)
dc.identifier.issn	2053-9517
dc.identifier.issn	2053-9517
dc.identifier.uri	http://hdl.handle.net/10453/174073
dc.description.abstract	Digital platforms produce bias and inequality that have a significant impact on peoples’ sense of self, agency and life chances. Wikipedia has largely evaded the criticism of other algorithmic systems like Google search and training databases like ImageNet, but Wikipedia is a critical source of representation in our current era – not only because it is one of the world's most popular websites, but because its data are being used as training data for the AI systems that are increasingly used for decision-making. We conducted an analysis of Wikipedia biographies in a national context, comparing the temporality and subjects of notability between English Wikipedia and the Australian Honours system in order to understand Wikipedia's unique role in the production of notability over the site's 20-year history. Framing Wikipedia as an active producer (rather than a reflection) of notability, we demonstrate that women are more likely to be awarded a Wikipedia page after the award announcements or not at all if their contribution is for labour relating to the caring professions than if their service is for sports, arts and films, politics or the judiciary. We argue that Wikipedia's inability to recognise gendered care work as noteworthy is mirrored in its own practices.
dc.language	English
dc.publisher	SAGE PUBLICATIONS INC
dc.relation	http://purl.org/au-research/grants/arc/DP220100662
dc.relation.ispartof	Big Data and Society
dc.relation.isbasedon	10.1177/20539517231210276
dc.rights	info:eu-repo/semantics/openAccess
dc.subject	2001 Communication and Media Studies
dc.subject.classification	4406 Human geography
dc.subject.classification	4701 Communication and media studies
dc.title	Gender and the invisibility of care on Wikipedia
dc.type	Journal Article
utslib.citation.volume	10
utslib.for	2001 Communication and Media Studies
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Digital and Social Media
pubs.organisational-group	/University of Technology Sydney/Faculty of Arts and Social Sciences/Social and Political Sciences Program
utslib.copyright.status	open_access	*
dc.date.updated	2024-01-08T00:35:38Z
pubs.issue	2
pubs.publication-status	Published
pubs.volume	10
utslib.citation.issue	2

Abstract:

Digital platforms produce bias and inequality that have a significant impact on peoples’ sense of self, agency and life chances. Wikipedia has largely evaded the criticism of other algorithmic systems like Google search and training databases like ImageNet, but Wikipedia is a critical source of representation in our current era – not only because it is one of the world's most popular websites, but because its data are being used as training data for the AI systems that are increasingly used for decision-making. We conducted an analysis of Wikipedia biographies in a national context, comparing the temporality and subjects of notability between English Wikipedia and the Australian Honours system in order to understand Wikipedia's unique role in the production of notability over the site's 20-year history. Framing Wikipedia as an active producer (rather than a reflection) of notability, we demonstrate that women are more likely to be awarded a Wikipedia page after the award announcements or not at all if their contribution is for labour relating to the caring professions than if their service is for sports, arts and films, politics or the judiciary. We argue that Wikipedia's inability to recognise gendered care work as noteworthy is mirrored in its own practices.

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http://hdl.handle.net/10453/174073