Women in Red 2025
Norwegian Wikipedia editors are eager to document and communicate women’s lives. In March, let’s make a joint effort and write women’s biographies. Join our activities and annual competition!
Every year in March, we organise the national Women in Red campaign, which is a push to grow the number of women’s biographies in the world’s biggest encyclopaedia. In 2024, we finally passed a 25 % female ratio for biographies on Norwegian Bokmål Wikipedia, which is well over the world average of 19 %. Volunteer contributors have worked systematically for years to help close the gender gap. We’re getting wonderful results, but the job isn’t done yet.
Turning red links into blue ones
On Wikipedia, links to articles that haven’t been written yet are red, whereas links to existing articles are blue. We want to change links to women’s biographies from red to blue! All biographies need proper sources, and historically, women’s lives and careers have been poorly documented. And gender inequalities have limited women’s opportunities to take on the typical roles that you expect to read about in an encyclopaedia. But many women have well-documented places in history or our own time, and we should write about them.
Female ratio of Wikipedia biographies
Based on year of birth*
1800s: 11 %
1900s: 28 %
2000s: 45 %
*on Wikipedia
in Norwegian Bokmål
In different language versions
Bokmål: 25 %
Nynorsk: 18 %
Northern Sámi: 33 %
In images
Only 20 % of the images on Wikimedia Commons (Wikipedia’s media repository) that depict humans, are of women.
Activities in March 2025
All month: 5 women
In the course of March, five women from different sectors will list five women that there should be a Wikipedia biography on. Follow us on Instagram and see how the list of red links evolves. Would you like to add entries to the list?
#5kvinner #5women
All month: Editing competition
Join the Wikipedia editing competition! If you create women’s biographies in Bokmål, Nynorsk, Northern Sámi or Inari Sámi, you can win fame and fortune, or at least a gift card. In last year’s competition 672 new women’s biographies were created.
1 March, 14:00-16:00: Wiki Meetup in Oslo
Deichman Bjørvika, meeting room Blankvann on the basement floor.
New and experienced Wikipedians meet up for a knowledge top-up and informal conversations, and the topic is Women in Red.
8 March, 12:00-15:00: Drop-in to edit Wikipedia
Sentralen in Oslo, Gullhallen on the third floor.
Which women’s lives and careers should be included in the world’s largest encyclopaedia? Stop by to hear about the Wikipedia gender gap and how you can help close it by editing, proofreading or adding images. Jon Harald and Elisabeth will offer coffee and advice on how to make a start.
Contact
Have you got questions about Women in Red or any of this year’s activities? Get in touch on post@wikimedia.no or tel. +47 48 92 48 92.
Learn more
Wikimedia Norge‘s efforts to close the Wikipedia gender gap
Category: Gender gap, News, Wikipedia, Women in Red