  In this study we investigate how quantification of Wikipedia biographies can
shed light on worldwide longitudinal gender inequality trends. We present an
academic index allowing comparative study of gender inequality through space
and time, the Wikipedia Gender Index (WIGI), based on metadata available
through the Wikidata database. Our research confirms that gender inequality is
a phenomenon with a long history, but whose patterns can be analyzed and
quantified on a larger scale than previously thought possible. Through the use
of Inglehart- Welzel cultural clusters, we show that gender inequality can be
analyzed with regards to world's cultures. In the dimension studied (coverage
of females and other genders in reference works) we show a steadily improving
trend, through one with aspects that deserve careful follow up analysis (such
as the surprisingly high ranking of the Confucian and South Asian clusters).
  Keywords: data mining, Wikidata, Wikipedia, gender gap, demographics
