At just 22, Dharmica Mistry made a medical breakthrough in breast cancer detection that led her to file for an international patent and co-found an Australian biotechnology company.

Key points: Women working in STEM have come together to close the Wikipedia gender gap

Women working in STEM have come together to close the Wikipedia gender gap Less than 18 per cent of biographies on the platform are about women

Less than 18 per cent of biographies on the platform are about women The event follows global efforts to increase the visibility of women online

Since then, the microbiologist has been working to further develop a promising new blood test, and champion the work of women in science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM).

In 2016, she was awarded the NSW Young Woman of the Year. The same year, the Australian Financial Review dubbed her one Australia's Top 6 Young Executives.

But until yesterday, Dr Mistry was all but absent from the world's largest online encyclopedia.

It's estimated 40,000 prominent scientists have been overlooked for dedicated Wikipedia pages, majority of whom are women.

Things, however, are starting to change — one Wiki entry at a time.

On Thursday, dozens of women working in health and medical research joined forces at the University of Sydney to build or update the profiles of accomplished Australian female scientists.

It was the first local "Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon" for the sector, and is part of a growing global movement to increase the visibility of women, who currently make up just 18 per cent of all biographies on the platform.

Melina Georgousakis, organiser of the event and founder of the women in STEM collective Franklin Women, said more needed to be done to elevate the work of women in science.

"If articles on female scientists are missing on one of the largest and most popular encyclopaedias, it skews public perception of their contributions," said Dr Georgousakis, a public health researcher at the University of Sydney.

"We are excited that because of this Edit-a-Thon more women scientists will get the recognition they deserve for their work and the role it has played in shaping society today."

A digital divide

Wikipedia, the fifth most visited website in the world, has become a key resource for millions of internet users.

But the platform, which relies on user-generated content, has acknowledged it suffers from a substantial gender gap.

Currently, only 18 per cent of Wikipedia's 1.6 million biographies are about women. Of the English-speaking contributors to the site, almost three quarters are men.

In a bid to rectify the gender divide and increase the recognition of women, Wikipedia launched the Women in Red "gender gap-bridging project" in 2015 to "create articles about notable woman that do not currently exist".

Jessica Wade, a UK physicist and advocate for diversity in science, has led the charge for women in STEM.

As of July, she has added 670 profiles of women and other minorities working in science and engineering.

"Wikipedia editors are mainly men in North America, and, unfortunately, that impacts the representation of women," Dr Wade said.

"When a Wikipedia page was created for Canadian physicist Donna Strickland it was quickly deleted for not demonstrating her notability. She went on to win the 2018 Nobel Prize in Physics.

"It's great to see this Edit-a-Thon happening in Australia to bring greater recognition to the incredible women scientists and researchers who have been overlooked."

Gabriella Tiernan, Nanette Herlihen and Dr Melina Georgousakis at the Wikipedia Edit-a-Thon. ( Tim Levy )

Prior to the event, participants and members of the STEM community were asked to nominate women they wished to see recognised for their contributions to science.

The candidates were checked against Wikipedia's notability criteria, and 70 pages were created, edited or expanded by the working group.

The volunteers received training and support from experienced Wikipedia editors, so that they would be able to make changes and additional entries in the future, Dr Georgousakis said.

"It doesn't really matter what they might edit later. It might not be a science topic," she said.

"But they're going to have the skills and hopefully feel empowered … to contribute.

"That's just making a ripple effect to changing who the gatekeepers of Wikipedia content are."

Dr Georgousakis said the decision to hold the event on July 25 — the birthday of the late UK scientist Rosalind Franklin, after whom Franklin Women is named — was to highlight the achievements of women that have been overlooked in history.

"Even though Franklin's scientific discoveries were seminal for determining the double-helix structure of DNA, her contributions went largely unrecognised at the time," she said.

"Rather, it was her male colleagues who received the accolades and went on to be awarded the Nobel Prize after her death.

"Now, Franklin's work is celebrated globally."

Margaret Donald, one of the expert Wikimedians who helped to teach volunteers how to build Wiki pages. ( Tim Levy )

Importance of representation

In addition to ensuring women are adequately recognised and celebrated for their work, Dr Georgousakis said it was important to increase their visibility for the next generation of aspiring female scientists.

"It's why we talk about trying to increase representation of women in leadership positions … because you can't be what you can't see," she said.

Amy Vassallo, a postdoctoral research fellow at Cancer Council NSW, said being able to see women in her field represented in the public sphere was "incredibly important".

"It's sometimes difficult as a relatively young researcher … to see the career path opportunities that could be available to me, when I don't see the contributions that Australian women in science have made in the public forum the same way that you see the contributions that men have made," she said.

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Shilpa Nagarajan, a molecular biologist who also participated in the event, helped create Dr Mistry's profile.

"I wanted to work on her page because I wanted to focus not just on women in STEM, but also women of colour in STEM," she said.

"I'm of Indian background and I know that she's of Indian background.

"I've seen her give talks and I find her so inspiring."

Ms Nagarajan said it was important to increase the knowledge and awareness of women in STEM because it helped pave the way for young researchers like herself.

"There are many women around the world in these fields ... and we don't need to enter the workplace and feel like we have to break stereotypes" she said.

"That reduces pressure and allows us to focus on the science."

While being selected as a woman worthy of profiling on Wikipedia caught Dr Mistry by surprise, she said she was wholly supportive of the project.

"Wikipedia is one of those platforms that is utilised so readily by different people of different backgrounds around the world," she said.

"Therefore, having that presence is important, whether it's me, or the next woman that's doing amazing things in STEM.

"We need to have that role model and representation in there."