Internet Citizen
International Women's Day
Categories: Digital Inclusion

Hope for the future this International Women’s Day

66 responses

This International Women’s Day, Firefox is raising awareness against bias, and raising a hand for equality.

We went to women in tech whose work we admire and asked them: what do you hope for women on the web? Here’s what they had to say:

More empowerment, less harassment

A theme emerged among responses to our prompt that could become a motto for how we achieve the web we want this year and every year after: more empowerment, less harassment.

Mozilla’s mission from the beginning has been to ensure that the internet is a global public resource, open and accessible to all, and empowerment is certainly a part of what we strive for. We’re committed to an internet that includes all people of the earth—where a person’s demographic characteristics don’t determine their online access, opportunities or quality of experience.

The more diverse and inclusive we can make the web, the better it will be for everyone.

Resources

If you’re interested in learning about online gender inclusion — and inclusion overall — check out:

  • Our IRL podcast episode on what the internet would be like if more women built it. Listen >>.
  • Our article on the status of open source gender inclusion. Read >>.
  • Mozilla’s web inclusion prognosis in the Internet Health Report. Read >>.
  • Mozilla’s 2018 diversity and inclusion disclosure. Read >>.
  • Mozilla’s guidelines and policies to support gender transitioning colleagues. Read >>

66 comments on “Hope for the future this International Women’s Day”

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  1. Alam Hossain wrote on

    Positive attitude or mind-setup of men against women empowerment or gender balance

    Reply

    1. Mike Glover wrote on

      More Women who genuinly believe strong in them selfs,and not look at this as a GET EVEN stage
      A woman must love them selfs and believe in themselfs to really get a head in life.

      Reply

      1. Martha wrote on

        You said a powerful thing right there Mike…Too many times we as women may want to get even, but we should not try to get even, we should celebrate our difference from men. We should thank God that we can make a wonderful difference in the world, for the better.

        Reply

        1. Jans wrote on

          Correct.

          Reply

        2. JOY wrote on

          MARTHA YOU GOT IT WRONG AGAIN MY DEAR. FOR A START, GOD WAS A WOMAN! ONLY THE MEN OF THIS WORLD SPREAD IT ABOUT IT WAS A MAN.

          Reply

    2. Martha wrote on

      That is right Alam! … There should always be a positive attitude, all over the world, towards women working and it should never be about gender. It should be about a human being trying to make a living in this world.

      Reply

    3. C D Tyler wrote on

      We thought women prime ministers would be a good thing. We now have our 2nd one who is as bad as the 1st. The 1st destroyed our mining industry, and our working base. The 2nd is driving the poor and the weak to suicide. I don’t think we could survive a 3rd.

      Reply

  2. MOHAMMAD LUTFUL HAIDER wrote on

    FEELING WELL WITH MOZILLA

    Reply

  3. Pinkmartini25 wrote on

    If women would just stick together and have each other’s back, we could be truly powerful! 🙂

    Reply

    1. Leslie Hodgson. wrote on

      The African women who till the Land are serene and strong, their Success is the ability to recognize this Value, The same applies to the women who work in Tech.

      Reply

  4. Edward Perez wrote on

    All men don’t harass Woman. I least I don’t. I love, and respect women. I have 2 daughters, and my mother was a woman. I do notice a lot woman seem to harass other women, and look for confrontations with other women. All men are created equal, however there are men who do harass, and abuse women. Is my observation. I also feel that if a female is able, and capable of doing the job of a male they should be compensated and treated with respect equally as a male.

    Reply

    1. Sylvia May wrote on

      Edward, that is a lovely message. I know many men who would never dream of harassing women, online or not. Power to all of us to expose and ridicule these men until they stop doing it.

      Reply

  5. Arnold Mink wrote on

    I hope that some day women will be making the same money as men if they are doing the same job. I also hope that men will get out of the business of telling women what they should/could do about abortion. It is the woman’s body, let her make the decision and her alone. Men have no business telling her what she should do with her body.

    Reply

    1. donald wrote on

      I agree….but when it comes to the husband and wife matter , the decision is to take by both of them…

      Reply

    2. doanld wrote on

      and what the hell you are talking about…..yes women can do anything …….my sister is earning a salary more than her boyfriend and also they both are happy……..u people manipulate people’s mind and ruin their life’s…..

      Reply

  6. Aaron wrote on

    “This International Women’s Day, Firefox is raising awareness against bias, and raising a hand for equality.” Yet one of the people in the video said thay they hope that the percentage of women working in tech will be higher than the percentage of men working in tech. That’s not equality. The woman that hopes for a higher percentage of women tech workers is being bias against men, is Firefox raising awareness against her? I don’t think men or women should have more rights or less rights. However I really doubt the percentage of women in specific jobs will ever remain equal to the percentage of men in specific jobs even if their rights are changed. The percentage can’t just become equal because people want it to be.

    Reply

  7. Timothy W Pauly wrote on

    I think women of all the world especially Ukraine be treated fairly don’t have to be sexually harassed or harassed at all in general it’s not right women deserve better thank you very much

    Reply

    1. Martha wrote on

      Yes Timothy, I agree with you!…. Although, we as women are not men and can never be as a man, we still need to be treated with love and respect. Every one in this world should be able to work in peace and not be harassed when all we want to do is feed our families.

      Reply

      1. JOYPATTINSON wrote on

        Martha you are not quite correct. The only thing women want is to feed their families is quite wrong. Women have umpteen roles quite apart from feeding families. It is usually up to the man to feed the family as he is recognized as the main bread winner. Women can do EVERYTHING and mainly do. They can speak, hear, understand, do research, learn and enter every corner of the business world. They fly airliners, drive lorries and large containers and generally could actually take over the whole world. The only problem there is that men will never allow that to happen.

        Reply

    2. Oliver Bakata Frazer wrote on

      I think women and men are human being created by God to leave in harmony with each other. Women can do whatever a man can do. However the issue of women being harassed is basically the individual attitude towards women. Yes we have some women with bad attitudes and others are even better peace makers in the family, that some men can not do. To me both men and women should respect each other’s value and opinion. If we talk about women’s weakness, all of us have weakness but we should consider strength rather then focusing more on the women’s weakness. Those men who are still planning to harass women let hem stop doing that this year 2019. thank you

      Reply

      1. Gloria Campbell wrote on

        Some women who have a bad attitude towards men often have had a bad experiences.

        Reply

  8. Jim wrote on

    The only thing that keeps all of this happening is YOU! As Helen Redding once said, ” you are woman, you are strong”! Nothing is stopping any of you from doing all of what you are saying you hope happens.
    P.S. Is there ever going to be a “Mans” day? You all had or have fathers, don’t you?

    Reply

    1. JOY wrote on

      Hello Jim. i think that’s the problem really. Some of them did not have fathers ad we know them to be. If a dad’s a moron, his boy will be one too as moron’s think they are the answer to all.

      Reply

  9. salem almedghio wrote on

    الاسلام اعز المرأةواعطاها كل حقوقها ولاكن لازالت في بعض بلادنا العربيه تعامل المرأة بطريقة الجاهلية الاولى

    Reply

    1. Mase wrote on

      Islam is the most cherished woman, and all her rights are given, but in some of our Arab countries women are still treated in the first ignorance
      Google Translate

      Reply

  10. J. Breeze wrote on

    Diversity is such a nothing burger. CEO’s love it because it’s 4 hours of nothing talk.
    One is good regardless of it’s gender, that’s is common sense, no need for movements or politics, or ‘funds’.

    Just an opinion.

    Reply

  11. Tracey wrote on

    As I get older I have noted a lot of change towards, how everyone wants to be heard and have there one personal opinion towards everything.
    I think that it is good for one grow, evolve and voices to be heard.
    As long as you never change loving others for who they are first, before trying to change ones perception or opinions.
    Weather we are a Man or a Women, love one another/ Stop all Violence in the “World”.

    Reply

  12. Gabriel wrote on

    Quando i diritti della donna saranno interpretati allo stesso livello di quelli dell’uomo, vorrà dire che l’evoluzione degli esseri umani avrà finalmente un senso logico e vitale.

    Reply

  13. drjillinNH wrote on

    Nice video. Thank you. I share all the women’s remarks and aspirations. Young women take the Internet for granted; we-the-fossils still say, “Wow.” It’s The Best of Humankind, and The Worst (underbelly) of Humankind, but it’s WOMEN who will always work tirelessly to keep it The BEST.

    Reply

  14. Stephen Wagner wrote on

    perhaps women should show the same respect and not use these empowerment moments as a means to roll over others

    Reply

  15. Danie Ricketts wrote on

    Not a comment on Woman’s Day. I keep trying to make Firefox my go to browser but microsoft won’t let me. So how do I get around edge?

    Reply

    1. M.J. Kelly wrote on

      Hi Danie, if you are using Windows 10, try this: https://support.mozilla.org/en-US/kb/how-change-your-default-browser-windows-10

      Reply

  16. Adebowale wrote on

    Phobia of either background shouldn’t be allowed.

    Reply

  17. Trudy Tankus wrote on

    I am 89 now and find that the work place is still biased in their opinions as to older women
    working at the front desks of a company. If you are over 35 and not overly made up with
    cosmetics, your outfit not tight and revealing, you are put in the back rooms to do work that
    will be needed, but you will NOT be seen or heard of, even though you have worked hard
    and worked your way up the ladder, and have been in one particular company for 20 years
    or more, you are OLD.

    Reply

    1. JOY wrote on

      TRUDY I COULD NOT AGREE MORE. I THINK IT IS HIGH TIME IT WAS DRUMMED INTO THE HEADS OF MEN THAT WITHOUT WOMEN THEY WOULD NOT EVEN BE HERE TODAY!

      Reply

  18. Rolf Niebergall wrote on

    First, man and women are equal ! Our bodies are similar to animal bodies but better developed ! But different to animals, we have a soul, spirit or what ! There is no female or male spirit or soul !
    Second, In the USA, each state has two senators, one should be male and one should be female. A man should not represent women, women can do it them self, they are smart enough. Some men would also support them. That means, they have the majority when it comes for laws regarding them? For men it would be similar? The laws in this country would be better ?
    Even Pakistan had a female prime minister, when do we have in the US our first female president ?
    By the way, Pakistan is a Muslim country !

    Reply

  19. Mika wrote on

    I hope you dont pull a “Gillette” on us Mozilla. Please dont…
    Dont dive into topics you should have nothing to do and say about.
    Keep the saying “A cobbler should stick to his last.” by heart if you want last long

    Reply

  20. Patricia wrote on

    I agree with all of these… except for ONE item in Tara Robinson’s list: sex workers. I do NOT support anyone who supports sex trafficking (or any other type of it) of women, of children, or of men.

    Reply

  21. Kyle wrote on

    If women pursue tech and they are as capable as others in the field, there shouldn’t be any barriers to their success: this is already the legal position of the US and the overwhelming practise of American business owners. At the same time, women do not have a special right to be artificially granted positions in businesses over anyone else. All businesses operate on relatively meritocratic standards and they live or die by the judgements they make in hiring one person over another, as well as promoting. Equality under the law has nothing to do with imposed retirbution quotas to push the number of men in a field down. The only women who seem held back in tech are those who feel entitled to privileges that none of the people in the tech industry currently have or have ever had. This is not a call for equality you are making; it is a call for forced equality of outcome, concerned with genitals more than equal citizens competing in the job market of an industry. This is why no one laments the lacking of women in industries such as hazardous waste removal. For some reason “women” only seek “equality” in sexy, trending, high paying, low risk job markets.

    Most of what I have ever seen from this company has been about free access for people to privacy on the internet and unbiased, unpolitical transparency–these posts are ideological drivel. What you’re speaking about is not equality and you shouldn’t corrupt the word by tying it to propaganda for equality of outcome; something which only exists when we embrace coercive power over equality under the law and individual liberty. No one wants women out of tech. No one wants talented tech minds of any identity unsupported. The arbitrary and asinine goal of equalizing the number of vaginas and penises in any industry is ridiculous. True equality is equality in the eyes of the law, not special entitlements to be dolled out whenever complaints are raised. It is about removing barriers that needlessly restrict opportunity, not using coercion or claims of moral superiority to demand specific and ideological outcomes. There is also nothing stopping women from getting together and creating their own companies and hiring as many other women as they see fit–except that those complaining the most seem the least likely to put in such long and difficult work and sacrifice.

    More importantly, I think you should be ashamed as a company for using a day about women in general to promote the tiny minority ideology of equality of outcome. This shallow philosophy hurts women as much as anyone else and is in direct conflict with core American principles of law and liberty: it is an attempt to make coercion politically and socially acceptable. Women are far more than employees and feminine wisdom is being disparaged and forgotten amid all of the manic, hyperbolic politization of women. When I think about the most important women in my life and why they are so dear to me, never once do I consider what career they had or how much money they hoarded or invested–and I thank god they weren’t mimicing stereotypical workaholic men. Women should be appreciated and respected beyond their capacity as workers; and their dedication to family and their communities should be seen as more important than their income–because it is! Women do amazing things all of the time and overcome incredible obstacles and make sacrifices that no one will ever give them credit for and all you can think to speak on is their artificial inflation as tech drones. Get out of your bubble and pay attention to women rather than activists.

    And I hate to break it to you, but inclusion and diversity are not achieved through surface-level discrimination, which your company seems to be radically embracing. The good news is that actually being diverse and inclusive is far, far simpler and inconceivably easy to maintain over time: YOU SIMPLY STOP JUDGING EVERYONE BASED ON THEIR APPEARANCE!!! That’s right, instead of making it into some sort of delusional quest that requires dedicated work, reverse discrimination, and pseudo-empathy, you drop the entire act and treat everyone of all skin colors and all genders and of whichever sex as individual people expressing themselves in a free society. You cannot go wrong from here. This is true equality and inclusion and it creates diversity organically, naturally, and sustainably, because diversity does not lie in the surface appearance or genitals of your employees, but in their individuality. What you are trying to impose upon yourselves now, is disriminatory, shallow, arbitrary, unsustainable, and incredibly biased and partial. You’re making something so easy and pure, impossibly complicated and false. You are running away from true inclusion and diversity by arrogantly reverse-discriminating in an attempt to correct a problem which you have overblown dramatically. What happens when you fully “include and diversify”? The groups you deliberately reverse-discriminated against will become the new groups you have to fight for at the expense of those you previously “saved”.

    WAKE UP!

    Reply

    1. Mike wrote on

      Well said Kyle,I was just about to say that.Brilliant

      Reply

    2. Raham Bolaji wrote on

      You’ve made some very crucial points Kyle! We live in a wicked and perverse world according to God’s word; that’s why some little minded women or men would use their beauty, sexuality or demonic power as weapon of oppression in the work place. Everyone – as well said by Rev. Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. should be judged by the content of their character and productivity without favoritism!
      Anything short of that, will be subject to judgement by the GOD who sees everything!

      Reply

    3. Floyd wrote on

      Well said Kyle! If this is in fact Mozilla’s policy, Mbyebye!

      Reply

    4. JOY wrote on

      Kyle do you seriousy believe women have nothing better to do than to read your speel? We have the ironing, washing, kids to feed, get them into bed, feed their father, put the car in the garage, close garage doors, arrange the living room, open emails and respond, make the beds for the kids an ourselves, do the shopping for the evening and god knows what else and you appear to think there is nothing to prevent us from getting our necks into what are only your opinions.

      Reply

  22. Muhammad wrote on

    Thanks to mozilla community.
    I hope for equal opportunity for all humans around the world.

    Reply

  23. Michael Peoni wrote on

    I have the upmost respect for all of Our women & young lady’s there’s power In numbers cheers if i ever get to the point where to need staff you bet yah there be equal rights Look @\ the IBM brilliant Lady i had the pleasure of watching a podcast with her in it what a pleasure i raised to be informed by a lady of this statue, My mother and i raised my first Granddaughter she’s fishing up her first
    \year of nursing school and amazes me at her intelligences everyday you know the old saying
    behind every good man there’s a women. Happy Lady’s Day.

    Michael Peoni

    Reply

    1. Rebeka wrote on

      My grandmother never attended school in the XVIII century in Ecuador, South America. But my mother had finished 6 years of elementary school and my sister and me were able to graduate as Veterinarian and Ag. Engineer. We were only five women in the the whole Faculty of 200 men in the 70´s. By now is almost equality on gender on those manly careers. However we were not discriminated on employment but in advancement. I had the opportunity to study overseas with scholarships and get two MSc. degrees in Biotechnology and Energy and the Environment. I am retired and managing a Biodiversity and Wetlands Reserve in the Bolivar Province in Ecuador. My concern is what kind and quality of land and water we are leaving our grand children and how humanity is loosing pride and respect…

      Reply

  24. Raja wrote on

    Dalam berfikir positif dan proporsional, Perjuangan adalah perjalanan yang banyak mengalami suka duka dan menghendaki suatu pengorbanan. Namun perjuangan adalah satu-satunya jalan untuk mencapai cita-cita. Suka duka adalah bentuk dinamika dari perjuangan yang anda tempuh. Oleh sebab itu mereka yang merasa yakin dengan kebenaran perjuangannya tidak akan pernah berhenti sebelum perjuangan itu mencapai tujuan yang diharapkan. Seluruh aktifitas bidang kehidupan apakah poitik, ekonomi, sosial, teknologi, persamaan hak dalam pekerjaan bersifat publik dan sebagainya, adalah bagian dari perjuangan untuk diwujudkan. Setiap unsur perjuangan yang dapat diwujudkan adalah bagian dari membangun peradaban sebagai identitas kemajuan kehidupan manusia. Pilihan dari orang yang baik dan bijaksana adalah perjuangan untuk kemaslahatan masyarakat dunia, suatu bangsa, suatu suku dan atau setidak-tidaknya keluarga dan untuk kebaikan diri pribadinya sebagai makhluk sosial. Perjuangan persamaan hak antara wanita dan pria dalam suatu pekerjaan, diluar pandangan fanatisme agama, adalah bagian penting dalam pola strata kehidupan yang perlu mendapat apresiasi normatif hukum, sebenarnya bersifat relatif bila melihat kronologi perkembangan peradaban. Pada aspek pandangan seperti itu saya mendukung pemikiran Internasional Women’ Day.

    Reply

  25. Andrew wrote on

    I hope for,
    they never closed there
    weakness to see and speech about the real facts of
    Internet and buildings also with any of these webs.
    I think the Internet is not the web, the web is a sub-theme
    in the Internet on second-level.

    Reply

  26. Raham Bolaji wrote on

    The awareness of inclusion of women is awesome! This simply means men will thrive better since before our maker – The Almighty GOD, men and women are the same! In heaven, there’s no male or female as written in the Bible.

    Reply

  27. hamil wrote on

    Kyle couldnt agree more with you on your observaation

    Reply

  28. Floyd wrote on

    Well, after reading Mozillas diversity/inclusion policy, it’s clear their values are not mine. See ya later alligator!

    Reply

  29. Ray wrote on

    Perhaps women would have a way of making the internet easier to understand. I’d like that. I’m a guy who has always loved women …. just not as many as I wanted to. 🙁

    Reply

  30. Connie Ehrhard wrote on

    I am a woman and personally feel that an international women’s day is ridiculous. We are no better than men, and for the last several years men have been getting a bad rap. I have been married years, worked all of those 45 and advanced through the ranks. PEOPLE need to remember that you need to work hard, quit holding your hand out for freebies and buck up and grow up. This is a democratic society we live in and if we go to socialism, we will all be very sorry. Just ask people from other countries that have immigrated to the US.

    Reply

    1. JOY wrote on

      Connie you are dead right. Glad to know I am not the only one sick of all this discrimination against those of us who create men in the first place. When will they realize that without women the lot of them would never have even been born.

      Reply

  31. Chiadi Nelson wrote on

    Thanks to mozilla community. Keep doing the good works
    Am a Bigfan from Nigeria…

    Reply

  32. vern wrote on

    I started my life in the world supporting those who were “are” classified as discriminated against and with the coming of technology there was a need for a bit of adjustment but I quickly found that the most vocal members of those groups were unwilling to put forward the effort needed to be equal and simply wanted to step on others to elevate themselves so I stood aside. Still being of assistance to individuals _– and expecting that the situation would become fair, but it has only become more imbalanced. I live in a county that counts and therefore coddles unwed mothers. THEY HAD A CHOICE.
    When my health collapsed some years ago this county left me completely 100 percent on my own.
    Now at my advanced age I receive $116.00 dollars per month from Social Security and have medicare. Altho I still try to be a REASONABLE voice of fairness the the true state of things is represented by Ms. Laspina’s sexist statement.

    First I heard “equal pay for equal work” I SUPPORT that but now the demand is for equality of outcome because many times in many work situations women are unable or UNWILLING to compete fairly. So a true example, Man and Woman working side by side machining parts that weighed thirty pounds, The man hand chucked his parts but but the woman needed to use the provided hoist, Her production was much lower as was her pay because they were paid by piece.
    And so being as so many men are a good person he hand chucked her work as well. He collapsed from overwork.
    So much to be said but I will end by saying that I have withdrawn ALL SUPPORT from Mozzila

    Reply

  33. raja ejaz haider kiani wrote on

    love to the women working for her and her family
    women are a big part of our country
    plz give respect to the women because she is a daughter sister and mother in these 3 shape love her

    Reply

  34. Chileshe Mubanga Clement wrote on

    Happy International Women’s Day – My Desktop Computer is too slow, make it fast like any other computers which use Mozilla Firefox

    Reply

  35. Logger Boy wrote on

    Words are okay but remember we effect change by our actions, no matter how small. I have asked my company to take my salary increase and spread it amoungst the women in my department that deserve it. Belly up to the bar boys because human equality rights are still far from equal! Do something about it!
    Namaste, Logger Boy

    Reply

  36. gool surty goolsurty wrote on

    i fell for the poor , who cant get enough bread to feed the family, and cant see the gender difference, i as a woman am strong, and capable of doing most things on my own, and being, … my own woman. i am also not a sextist, love the humanrace no matter who. i just love being a woman. i think aive said it all. today being womans day, yay to all woman, is there a mans day, and why not, we can salam them to. good day to all gool

    Reply

  37. Schatzi wrote on

    There was a time in our country when we believed that EVERYONE had a right to express their thoughts and ideas and be heard. I don’t agree with every thought and idea I hear, but if I am going to understand the people and culture that I live in, I have to be willing to LISTEN to thoughts and ideas that are DIFFERENT from my own. I don’t need to yell, interrupt, or correct others. I’m much more interested in the exchange that brings UNDERSTANDING, even without agreement.

    Reply

  38. ACHRAF SELLAM wrote on

    Personally, I encourage women to learn how to write and to read before to use the technology.

    Reply

  39. Rev. Peter Orngu wrote on

    Our good God created women for His glory. Their services are acknowledge by God, both in the Church, home, and in the civil society. May our God grease your elbow as you serve Him and the society.
    Thanks
    Rev. Peter Orngu

    Reply

  40. christopher kibiwot wrote on

    Women are the pillars of human procreation, then who can be against them?Let us support them, without harrassment or discremination.

    Reply

  41. S.Q.Hasan wrote on

    You got to prove your worth regardless of gender.

    Reply

  42. Elette Wheeler wrote on

    No doubt some women do suffer harassment, but I have never in my life been harassed by any man. Most of my experiences of men have been great. I’ve never seen myself as a victim and find it very hard to identify with most of what was expressed here. Fears real or imagined can limit us. If it is not in our nature to be technically minded, should we all force ourselves through that particular eye of the needle. We can’t all be good at everything. As humans, we only have so much energy in a day. I’ll gladly pay someone to do something to save myself frustration, just as if I were to need a plumber. As long as they know what they are doing, a male or female techie is fine, so long as they get the same pay for the same work.

    Reply

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