  Wikipedia represents the largest and most popular source of encyclopedic
knowledge in the world today, aiming to provide equal access to information
worldwide. From a global online survey of 65,031 readers of Wikipedia and their
corresponding reading logs, we present novel evidence of gender differences in
Wikipedia readership and how they manifest in records of user behavior. More
specifically we report that (1) women are underrepresented among readers of
Wikipedia, (2) women view fewer pages per reading session than men do, (3) men
and women visit Wikipedia for similar reasons, and (4) men and women exhibit
specific topical preferences. Our findings lay the foundation for identifying
pathways toward knowledge equity in the usage of online encyclopedic knowledge.
