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View all search resultsCourageous women leaders
As we celebrate International Women’s Day this year, let us remember that courageous leadership remains essential, not only to expand opportunities for women, but also to ensure that dignity, respect and safety are upheld in both the physical and digital spheres.
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Participants march on March 8, 2025, during a protest organized by the Indonesian Women’s Alliance (API) to mark the 50th International Women’s Day demanding labor rights, gender equality and protections, in Central Jakarta. (AFP/Yasuyoshi Chiba)
D
espite growing conservatism globally, significant progress has been made in women’s rights. More women have been appointed national leaders, lawmakers and top business executives. Even monarchies have begun opening pathways for female heirs to ascend to the throne.
But unfortunately, the fight is far from over. In an increasingly digitalized world, these challenges now extend beyond long-standing issues such as gender inequality and violence. While those problems persist, women today also face new risks online, where weak safeguards and meager attention to data privacy by Big Tech expose them to harassment and exploitation on a global scale. Digital platforms have amplified the abuse and made it more visible.
Female politicians receive constant online and offline harassment, regardless of their political stance. In one incident, Mexico’s President Claudia Sheinbaum was groped by a man during a public appearance in Mexico City in November last year. The video was widely shared on social media, with little attempt to limit its circulation, causing the harassment to be played over and over, and accessible to everyone.
The consequences of such exposure extend beyond the individuals involved. Violent or degrading images targeting women and other vulnerable groups are easily accessible online, shaping how viewers perceive acceptable behavior. The normalization of such content can have troubling effects on society, particularly on younger audiences who are still forming their understanding of respect and boundaries.
Former New Zealand prime minister Jacinda Ardern, who was highly regarded for her ability to lead the country through a terrorist attack and the COVID-19 pandemic, resigned in the middle of her second term, citing exhaustion over the constant confrontation that she faced online and in the real world. In an interview with The Guardian, she said rage is everywhere and “something had been loosened worldwide.”
A recent controversy of Elon Musk’s Grok chatbot has also shown low regard for data privacy and women. The company that operates Grok, xAI, allowed users to edit and post sexualized AI-generated content using the chatbot from real images of women, without their consent. Despite claims that safeguards have been implemented, it is reported that Grok still produces the sexualized imagery, along with warnings that the subjects did not consent and would be humiliated by the pictures.
In such an environment, protecting women requires more than individual resilience. It demands leadership willing to confront powerful technology companies and enforce the building of critical safeguards into digital platforms. These protections may appear technical and administrative, but they will protect society, especially children, from exposure to violence.
