The average Wikipedia contributor is 25, has no wife, no kids and high educated. He writes 6.4 hours per week for Wikipedia. Only 12.5% of the contributors are women.
As we all know, Wikipedia is the product of a worldwide network of volunteers, whose work is used by millions all around the world.
Research, conducted by the Wikimedia Foundation, the non-profit organisation behind Wikipedia and the United Nations University Merit, disclosed that both volunteers and users are mostly men.
Only 30% of Wikipedia's users are women. And a small 12.5% of Wikipedia's contributors are women.
When researchers asked women why they did not contribute, they indicated they knew too little and had no information to contribute. Also, one out of four women say they do not feel comfortable editing other people's work.
One out of three gives the most obvious answer: "I do not have the time to contribute".
Having free time is quite important to contribute to Wikipedia. On average, a volunteer spends 6.4 hours per week contributing and editing. If you add up every contributer's hours Wikipedia has 5.091 people working full time for the encyclopaedia.
Since free time is so important to contribute to Wikipedia, mostly students are represented among the volunteers. Also, mostly high educated people are writing and editing articles.
Curiously, most Wikipedia contributers think classic encyclopaedias are more trustworthy than Wikipedia. But Wikipedia is faster and easier to consult.
Source: De Standaard
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