Wikipedia is the world’s largest and most visited reference site, but the site’s editors often overlook business owners, artists and creatives who are women, people of color, and members of the LGBTQ+ community.
At To the Point Collaborative, we’re working to make Wikipedia more inclusive. There are numerous individuals out there right now who qualify for a Wikipedia article, but haven’t yet been discovered.
Jessica Wade, Ph.D., an award-winning physicist from Imperial College London, learned several years ago that less than 18% of biographies on Wikipedia are about women.
The same holds true for minorities of any description: A built-in bias has led to a serious imbalance in Wikipedia’s content and the volunteer editor community.
The Wikimedia Foundation has acknowledged this bias, and has created ways to address it. While Wikipedia’s editors work to achieve a better gender and color balance among its members, To the Point Collaborative is focused on articles about those who have been overlooked.
One such person who was eligible for a Wikipedia article but hadn’t yet been included on the site is best-selling author Julie Lythcott-Haims. Julie contacted To the Point Collaborative in 2021, asking if she was eligible for an article on Wikipedia.
Julie Lythcott-Haims
After reviewing her media coverage, To the Point determined that Julie was indeed eligible. Major media sources like NPR, The New York Times, The Washington Post, and other well-known outlets have written about Julie’s career and accomplishments over the years.
Julie identifies as a Black and biracial woman, and the typical Wikipedia volunteer editor doesn’t often work on articles about living people from historically underrepresented groups. After working with Julie to create a draft article, we presented it for consideration by Wikipedia’s volunteer community. The article was quickly accepted and Julie is now part of Wikipedia.
At To the Point Collaborative, our mission is to ensure underrepresented groups flourish and are given the opportunity to enhance their online reputation with a Wikipedia entry. We are working to create a better balance of representation on Wikipedia and in the world.
Contact us today to see how our consulting services can serve you.
See if you’re ready for a Wikipedia article.
Our client, poet and lyricist, Larry Beckett was a little skeptical about the benefits of updating his Wikipedia page. In fact, he started out by asking us how updating his Wikipedia page would be beneficial to him.
Then we received this message.
“I’ve been approached to release a live poetry cd, with digital distribution by Monday Media. Why? The owner read my updated Wikipedia entry and was so impressed he contacted me. It was a direct result of your work. Thank you!”