Dr. Jess Wade, Physicist and Wikipedia Maven
Digest
This episode of the Lost Women of Science podcast features an interview with Jess Wade, a physicist at Imperial College London. Jess is passionate about increasing the visibility of women in STEM fields, and she does this by creating Wikipedia pages for women scientists. The episode begins by introducing Jess and her work, highlighting the importance of representation and visibility for inspiring future generations. Jess then discusses the significant underrepresentation of women on Wikipedia, emphasizing the need to address this gap to ensure accurate and inclusive knowledge dissemination. She explains her process for selecting women to profile, highlighting the challenges of finding information and ensuring representation across disciplines, nations, and historical periods. Jess also emphasizes the importance of nominating women for awards and recognition to ensure their contributions are acknowledged and celebrated. The episode concludes with Jess sharing the impact of her Wikipedia editing work, highlighting how it has helped women gain recognition, visibility, and opportunities. She discusses her personal motivations for championing women in STEM, drawing inspiration from her parents and her belief in the power of diversity in science.
Outlines
Championing Women in STEM: Jess Wade's Wikipedia Project
This episode introduces Jess Wade, a physicist who is dedicated to increasing the visibility of women in STEM fields by creating Wikipedia pages for them. The episode explores the importance of representation and the need to address the underrepresentation of women on Wikipedia.
The Wikipedia Gap and its Impact
Jess Wade discusses the significant underrepresentation of women on Wikipedia and the impact this has on knowledge dissemination. She explains the challenges of finding information about women scientists and ensuring their representation across disciplines, nations, and historical periods.
Recognizing Women's Contributions Beyond Wikipedia
Jess Wade emphasizes the importance of nominating women for awards and recognition to ensure their contributions are acknowledged and celebrated. She shares the impact of her Wikipedia editing work, highlighting how it has helped women gain recognition, visibility, and opportunities.
Motivation and Inspiration
Jess Wade discusses her personal motivations for championing women in STEM, drawing inspiration from her parents and her belief in the power of diversity in science.
Keywords
Wikipedia
An online, collaboratively edited encyclopedia that provides free access to information on a wide range of topics. It is known for its vast scope, dynamic nature, and potential for bias in representation.
STEM
An acronym for science, technology, engineering, and mathematics, representing fields of study and research that are crucial for innovation and technological advancement.
Representation
The presence and visibility of diverse groups, including women, in various fields and platforms, ensuring that their contributions and perspectives are acknowledged and valued.
Gender Inequality
The systemic disparities and disadvantages faced by women in various aspects of society, including education, employment, and representation in leadership positions.
Notability Criteria
Guidelines used by Wikipedia to determine whether a subject is sufficiently notable to warrant an entry, often based on factors such as awards, publications, and public recognition.
Diversity
The presence of a wide range of individuals with different backgrounds, experiences, and perspectives, contributing to a more inclusive and innovative environment.
Q&A
What motivated Jess Wade to start creating Wikipedia pages for women in STEM?
Jess Wade was inspired by the lack of representation of women in her physics department and the realization that many phenomenal women scientists were not recognized on Wikipedia.
How does Jess Wade choose which women to profile on Wikipedia?
Jess Wade initially focused on women physicists in the UK, but expanded her work to include women in various disciplines, nations, and historical periods, often using lists of award winners and fellows as starting points.
What impact has Jess Wade's Wikipedia editing work had on the women she profiles?
Jess Wade's work has helped women gain recognition, visibility, and opportunities, including invitations to conferences, media appearances, and increased citations.
What are some of the challenges Jess Wade faces in her work?
Jess Wade faces challenges in finding information about women scientists, particularly those who may have changed their names or whose work is not widely recognized. She also grapples with the inherent biases in Wikipedia's notability criteria, which often favor men.
What is Jess Wade's ultimate goal in her work?
Jess Wade aims to make science more inclusive and diverse, believing that diverse teams of people lead to better and more robust scientific discoveries. She hopes to inspire future generations of women to pursue careers in STEM by showcasing the achievements of women scientists.
Show Notes
Dr. Jess Wade is a physicist at Imperial College London who’s made it her mission to write and update the Wikipedia pages of as many women in STEM as she possibly can. She inspired us at Lost Women of Science to start our own Wikipedia project to ensure that all the female scientists we profile have accurate and complete Wikipedia pages. In this episode, Jess talks with us about what she does and why she does it.
Table of contents
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