"Double the lede!"
December 2021

Online event 1-31 December 2021

This December Women in Red proposes an editathon we’re calling "Double the lede!" Now that more and more people are using smartphones and virtual assistants that may only display the introductory summary (known as the "lede" or "lead") of our articles, it is important that that summary contains a good overview of the life, work or organization covered. As there are many articles with very short ledes (for example, a single sentence), this editathon seeks to expand the ledes in order to provide a fuller summary of the entry. You might even find some of the articles you have created yourself could do with a longer lede (we know we will!).

We hope both inexperienced and seasoned editors will join us in improving biographies and other articles about notable women, including their writings or other works. This virtual editathon allows enthusiasts wherever they may be to participate in our initiative.

Instructions

• Identify an article with a very short lede (tips below)
• Read through the article and try to expand the lede by mentioning a bit more about the person covered, perhaps including some of their major achievements.
• If you want more background, you'll find some useful tips from the Lead Improvement Team.

Main goals

• to encourage inexperienced editors and show them how they can contribute to Wikipedia by creating or improving biographies of prominent women
• to draw the attention of more experienced editors to the need for concerted action on combating the systemic bias against the coverage of women and women's works
• to promote the new/improved articles and images through social media and via nominations to Main Page features Did You Know…? and In The News.

What else?

• Below, you'll see a section where you can list the articles you have worked on this month, and another section where you can add the images you have uploaded to Commons.
• This essay on creating women's biographies and our Ten Simple Rules might be helpful to newer editors.
• If you share any of the articles or their images on social media, or successfully nominate for In The News, please indicate you have done so next to the article name.