The 72 women of the Eiffel Tower – inspiration for translations and beyond
Speakers
My editing journey started in 2018 by reading about an interesting woman, (Jeanie Dicks, who electrified Winchester Cathedral), Googling her and finding out that she didn’t have a Wikipedia page. This horrified me, so I went to a Wikithon to learn how to write her one, having never previously thought about how Wikipedia pages came about.
I am a social history curator, specialising in community engagement and managing (UK) national heritage projects. My academic interests started in the medieval era and I learned to read academic French to access those sources. (I learned French in Wales, taught by a Liverpudlian, so my accent is embarrassing at best). During my career, my research interests have progressed through the centuries until I discovered late C19th/early C20th women in engineering and the wider scientific community. I started translating articles from French into English as an exercise to keep my brain functioning during the Covid lockdowns.
I am a volunteer trainer for Wikimedia UK and a member of Women in Red and enjoy enthusing and enabling other people to get into wiki editing and showcasing the notable people they think should be featured.
Editing Wikipedia - and training others how to - is my contribution to helping to ensure Freedom, Equity and Reliability in a world which seems keen to turn back the clock on the hard won rights for far too many people.
My one big rule: I won’t write about you until you are dead.
Abstract
In January 2026, the names of 72 women of science were proposed for addition to those of 72 men already engraved on the Eiffel Tower. The coverage of these women on English language Wikipedia was patchy at best, with 23 of the women having no mention at all. So a project was born, a spreadsheet started, and translations and improvements begun, linking with Wiki Women in Red's #1day1woman: 2026 initiative.
By the time of Wikimania 2026, all 72 women will have a decent English language Wikipedia page and be linked and showcased across many other wikipages. These women all worked for their own versions of Freedom, Equity and Reliability. Now their names and histories are easier to discover and to inspire others fighting for their and other women’s rights to a rewarding career. The 72 Women of the Eiffel Tower project can be replicated in other language wikis or used as the inspiration to take national, regional or local commemorative projects as a basis for a wiki editing to imprve the coverage of women on Wikipedia.
Vote in an online poll for which of the 72 women inspires you most - result to be shared at the end of Wikimania!
Additional information
My editing journey started by reading about an interesting woman, (Jeanie Dicks, https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jeanie_Dicks who electrified Winchester Cathedral), Googling her and finding out that she didn’t have a Wikipedia page. This horrified me, so I went to a Wikithon to learn how to write her one, having never previously thought about how Wikipedia pages came about. The 72 women whose names have been proposed for addition to the Eiffel Tower are all women worked for their own versions of Liberté, Égalité and Fiabilité in France. Now their names and histories are easier to discover and to inspire others fighting for their and other women’s rights to a rewarding career. Editing Wikipedia - and training others how to - is my contribution to helping to ensure Freedom, Equity and Reliability in a world which seems keen to turn back the clock on the hard won rights for far too many people.
* Audiences looking for a project about showcasing notable but until recently less recognised women - in this instance women in the history of sciences in France. * Trainers/ wikimedians in residence looking for projects and editathon ideas. * Those interested in increasing coverage of notable women on wikis. * Wiki translators * How to take a press story about a commemorative project and turn it into an editing and translation challenge. * A short and punchy 5 minutes with illustrated slides and key points to take away. * A shared googledoc for others wanting to replicate the approach or translate in their language(s) of choice. * Lots more collaborative work to do!
Everyone can participate in this session