There are worlds within Wikipedia, but in a larger sense, Wikipedia is also a reflection of the world. Power structures and inequalities included.
“Women, people of color, and members of marginalized communities have not historically always been represented in public discourse,” says Katherine Maher, Chief Communications Officer of Wikimedia, the foundation that runs Wikipedia. “Whether in the media, or in research, or in non-fiction work, because their voices have not always been heard or told.”
Because Wikipedia works by citations of secondary sources, these voices also do not end up reflected thoroughly on Wikipedia – which essentially mirrors the information that is easily available in the world.
Edit-a-thons, often organized autonomously surrounding a specific topic, are one way of working underrepresented voices into Wikipedia.
