Protests, Progress, and Potential

According to the official UN timeline, March 8, 2022 marks only the 47th International Women’s Day (IWD). Global history of the event is much longer. Over a century of IWD protests and celebrations has united women across cities and nations to fight for gender equity.

In February of 1908, around 15,000 women marched and struck in New York City to demand shorter working hours, better pay, and the right to vote. By the next year, the Socialist Party of America declared its first National Women’s Day, and a year later, a German woman at the International Conference of Working Women proposed a multinational celebration. In 1911, Austria, Denmark, Germany, and Switzerland officially recognized an International Women’s Day for the first time.  Many other countries started their own annual celebration of International Women’s Day; some continue to have national holidays of their own.

Despite the location of that first historic march in NYC in 1908, the United States does not generally observe International Women’s Day with the same fervor as other countries.

For global companies like Lionbridge, staying in tune with the celebrations–and protests–around the world is key.

For us, part of this celebration is building a more inclusive company and encouraging feedback from the women in our offices. Some Lions share here the importance of inclusion and what it’s like to be a woman at Lionbridge in the video below:

Marching and Demanding Change Across the Globe

The Impact in Poland

Polish celebrations of Women's Day were first organized on March 24, 1924 by the Central Women's Division of the PPS. At first, the day focused on labor issues like the protection of women's work and the wage gap. The day’s mood eventually lightened, with an emphasis on flowers (like a single carnation or tulip) and common gifts, like tights, stockings, and coffee that were often difficult to find during war or economic downturn. Still, it was an opportunity to thank women for their contributions for the country, economy, factories, families, etc.  

As years went on, IWD became a low-key holiday between Valentine's Day and Mother's Day in both time and tone. Many organizations, mostly left-wing and feminist, criticized these celebrations for reinforcing sexist attitudes and promoting the concept of women as dependent on men. 

In 2000, Polish feminist movements organized a large-scale protest known as Manifa after extreme anti-abortion laws led to violent detainment of a medical provider. Now, March 8 is when women publicly express their concerns about their rights and point out the unequal treatment of women in the economy and politics.

In October 2020, abortion laws were tightened in Poland, resulting in an ongoing wave of protests called the Women's Strike. Many Lionbridge employees support this movement, and those that attended had the support of Lionbridge too.

“The communities of our Lionbridge sites are at various steps along the journey to accept women as equal partners deserving pay equity and fairness," said Ann Lazarus-Barnes, Chief People Officer at Lionbridge. In keeping with our philosophy of valuing the individual, Lionbridge supports our Polish colleagues as they fight for women’s rights.”

Our Polish Lions said every Women's Day there emphasizes more and more sisterhood and mutual support. And the slogan of last years’ protest still applies to the refugees now fleeing en masse to Poland to escape the war: "You will never walk alone".  In fact, this year, our Polish Lions have opted to forego the traditional flower presentation in order to donate supplies to women in Ukraine.

A Look at India

Chennai and Mumbai are two of our biggest offices, and the women in these offices have an impressive impact on both colleagues and local communities. With efforts like iWiLL and its related symposiums, our Indian Lions are consistently improving the lot of women across the subcontinent. 

iWILL, the region’s Women in Lionbridge Leadership initiative, mentors, and motivates women in the company to provide mutual support. Workshop topics include financial independence, work-life balance, and setting expectations.

Lasha Choudhary in the Chennai office described the program as a sisterhood. “Our conversations change depending on the pulse of the organization,” she said. “As leaders, it’s our job to ask what we can offer to others.”

“Inclusivity isn’t just something be practiced at one point in time,” said Manisha Gupta, Associate Director for a Global Delivery Center. “Embedding inclusion in organization functioning means inclusion by design rather than addon programs.”

Supporting Women in Our Lionbridge Offices

Our other offices have a program similar to iWill as part of the Women@Lionbridge group. By matching newer employees with those with more tenure, the group offers professional and social support to Lions whether they are veterans or in their first month of work.

Additionally, programs like ReacHIRE increase recruitment and retention of diverse candidates in the US. By offering a reentry path for professionals, partner companies like Lionbridge reduce the challenges women encounter in an effort to be full participants in the labor force.

Lionbridge has partnered with ReacHIRE for three years, promoting and retaining key talent as part of the process. It has been a win-win both for ReacHIRE, Lionbridge, and the talent developed.

Many Lionbridge employees are also part of the Women in Localization group. Lions like Jill Goldsberry are recognized across the industry as experts in their field. Goldsberry, who was nominated by a Women in Localization founder for this month’s feature in MultiLingual magazine, said the connections made among women networking with one another strengthen both our individual career paths and the localization industry as a whole.

“Now more than ever, I’ve seen how relationships we have with these great groups of women around the world mean we can come together in times of need and help each other,” Goldsberry said. “We're much stronger as one.”

These professional organizations show both the dedication of our team to our work and their value and respect as contributors.

Breaking Barriers and Bias

March 8 is just a single day, but Lionbridge’s efforts to promote gender equity extend beyond it. From working against our own internal assumptions to building better language systems to recognize and minimize bias, our Lions and our company are dedicated to a brighter, more equitable future. Want to be a part of that? Get to know our team and join us.