Foreign Affairs

Postdoctoral Researcher Writes 270 Wikipedia Entries To Make Female Scientists More Well-Known

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A postdoctoral researcher wrote 270 Wikipedia entries about female scientists in order to make them more well-known to the general public.

Jess Wade, a postdoctoral researcher who studies plastic electronics at Imperial College London, made around 270 Wikipedia entries about female scientists so they could gain more recognition, according to The Guardian. Wade said she had a goal of doing one entry a day but sometimes got “too excited” and ended up doing three.

“I kind of realised we can only really change things from the inside,” Wade told The Guardian. “Wikipedia is a really great way to engage people in this mission because the more you read about these sensational women, the more you get so motivated and inspired by their personal stories.”

Wade wanted to highlight female involvement in science since women lag behind men in the science, technology, engineering and math (STEM) fields. There is currently a large disparity between men and women in STEM.

Only 9 percent of engineers in the U.K. were women in 2017, according to an EngineeringUK briefing. Only 1.9 percent of women chose A-level physics in 2016, according to the 2018 Institute of Physics Report.

The academic’s most recent Wikipedia page is about professor and emergency room doctor Ester Choo.

“She’s incredible,” Wade tweeted Tuesday.

Meet A/Prof Esther Choo (@choo_ek), ER doctor @OHSUSOM and advocate for minorities in medicine. Choo started @Equity_Quotient to monitor and promote equality in healthcare. She’s incredible. New @Wikipedia page: https://t.co/FUUhuyh0zH #womeninstem pic.twitter.com/oE5jpY3nPI

— Dr Jess Wade (@jesswade) July 24, 2018

Wade’s first subject was Professor Kim Cobb, a U.S.-based climate scientist. She shortly after made a page for Susan Goldberg, the first female National Geographic editor.