We need a web that works for women and girls

As offices and schools around the world close in the face of the coronavirus pandemic, the web is a lifeline — keeping us connected to work and school, vital health information, and our loved ones.

But, as we depend on the web more than ever, almost two billion women and girls across the globe can’t access it at all — and for many who can, the web just isn’t safe enough.

In a letter marking the web's 31st birthday, web inventor and Web Foundation co-founder Sir Tim Berners-Lee sounded the alarm about a growing crisis of online abuse and discrimination that is keeping women and girls offline and threatening progress on gender equality.

Here, we untangle these threats — and explain why we need urgent action to make the web work for women and girls everywhere.

Resources to build a web that works for women and girls

We’re proud to work alongside inspiring organisations around the world working day in and day out to build a better online world for women — and in turn, a better world for everyone!

It's up to all of us to make the web work for everyone

The web has the potential to be a tremendous force for equality and democracy. We can’t let the crisis of online abuse and discrimination undermine this promise.

In his letter, Sir Tim Berners-Lee calls on us to channel an ambitious, collaborative spirit to make the web work for women and girls — and therefore for us all.

He outlines the key actions that governments, companies and citizens can all take to build the web we want — a web that is safe and empowering for everyone.

• Prioritise the problem: 2020 must be the year governments and companies tackle online harms against women as a top priority.
• Provide better data: Companies and governments must tackle the data void around online violence by systematically recording and publishing data on what women experience online.
• Embed ‘gender equality by design’: Governments and companies must create all products, policies, and services based on data and feedback from women of all backgrounds.
• Build legal protections: Governments must develop laws that hold perpetrators of online gender-based violence to account, and resource law enforcement to respond and prosecute when those laws are violated.
• Be active bystanders: We must all speak up when we see harms against women and girls online.