Progress toward gender equity is progress for all. We’re working to enable billions to reach their full potential.
How we’re building for gender equity
We’re advancing gender equity in the workplace, building on our best year yet for women in tech.
Read about our workOur progress toward gender equity in our workplace
2020 was our best year yet for hiring women in tech, and we know that equity doesn’t end with hiring. That’s why we’re focused on ensuring fairness throughout the employee lifecycle to help women and gender-expansive people thrive.
-
We’ve ensured pay equity for all women employees globally since 2017, and have shared our approach for others to use.
-
We’ve created targeted career development and promotion programs for women Googlers at every hiring level, from entry-level to director.
-
We’ve created internal policies to alleviate stressors that tend to disproportionately impact women. For example, we expanded our Carer’s Leave from 4 to 14 weeks of paid time away with reimbursement for up to 20 days of caregiver costs.
-
To address issues of inappropriate conduct in the workplace, we overhauled our internal processes and added new care programs for people who report concerns.
-
We’re cultivating community through conferences like Transcend, our first Women of Color Summit, and through our employee resource groups (ERGs) like Women@Google and Trans at Google.
-
We’ve engaged over 4,000 Google managers and leaders in #ItsUpToMe, an internal allyship campaign to hold them accountable as they craft and reach our diversity, equity, and inclusion goals.
We’re making sure that our tools and technology are inclusive of all genders and expressions.
Find out howProducts to build belonging for marginalized genders
We’re working to support spaces of belonging and uplift those who’ve been marginalized due to gender, across all our products. Here are a few of our latest features:
-
Local businesses can identify as being women-owned, LGBTQ-friendly, transgender safespace, and can note if they have gender-neutral restrooms.
-
Google Maps highlights cultural landmarks that honor the trans community, like the Black Trans Lives Matter Mural in San Francisco.
-
The inclusive language feature on smart canvas is designed to flag and suggest alternatives to gendered language, helping you be more aware of language and how it may affect others.
We’re supporting well-being for traditionally underrepresented genders.
Read about our workHow we’re improving the safety and well-being for all those marginalized due to their gender
We’re using technology to develop new ways to protect the safety of those marginalized due to their gender. Here are some of our recent efforts:
-
In partnership with Northwestern Medicine, we’re working to develop AI solutions for faster breast cancer screening.
-
We’ve added a self-assessment tool to search results for the phrase “postpartum depression.” The tool provides information to evaluate the level of symptoms, along with links to additional resources.
-
We launched a YouTube content series on factual health and well-being information for young women.
-
Jigsaw, a team within Google that explores threats to open societies, is working to develop global scalable solutions to online violence against women. Their Perspective API uses machine learning to help mitigate toxicity and abuse on online platforms.
toward pathways to prosperity for women, girls, and gender-expansive people
Read about the Google.org Impact Challenge$25M Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls
In 2021, we launched the Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls, which focused on gender inequity, one of the most urgent challenges we face as a society. The challenge, launched in partnership with Vital Voices and Project Everyone, was an open call to organizations that create pathways to prosperity for women and girls. Thirty-four organizations have been selected and will receive between $300,000 and $1 million in funding, plus opportunities for mentorship and additional support from Google.
We’re working to combat online violence against marginalized people through data, technology, and trainings.
women reported that online violence is harmful to their well-being.
Read the Economist study (Opens in a Dialog Window)Measuring the prevalance of online violence against women
Nearly all forms of online violence disproportionately impact the most vulnerable members of society, like women, religious minorities, and people of color. To better understand the issue, Jigsaw, a team within Google that explores threats to open societies, commissioned The Economist Intelligence Unit to study the prevalence of online violence against women. Findings from the study were used in an open letter signed by 200 prominent women, which informed the 2021 Gender Equality Forum in Paris.
decline in comments that were “very likely” to be toxic after implementing the Perspective API, according to one media partner
Learn about Perspective (Opens in a Dialog Window)Using machine learning to combat harassment online
As part of its mission to build products to help people stay safer online, Jigsaw created Perspective, an API that uses machine learning to help mitigate toxicity and abuse on online platforms. Publications like The New York Times and El Pais are already using Perspective with positive results. The Southeastern Missourian reported a 96% reduction in comments “very likely” to be toxic after providing minor feedback powered by Perspective API’s toxicity scoring.
women and allies trained to protect themselves online
Explore training resources (Opens in a Dialog Window)How the Women’s Online Safety Program is helping to keep women safe online
For women to thrive in tech, they must feel safe online. To help women thrive online, Jigsaw and Women Techmakers teamed up to create the Women’s Online Safety Program. This program, embraced at Google offices around the world, includes training on how to push back against online violence, and hackathons to create technical solutions to the problem. So far about 2,000 women and allies have completed the training across Nigeria, East Africa, Central Africa, West Africa, Europe, Bolivia, Latin America, Pakistan, and Turkey.
More ways we’re building for gender equity:
Transcend: Bringing together women from around the globe
Learn about our first Women of Color SummitTranscend: Our first Women of Color Summit
We’re cultivating community and celebrating intersectionality at Google through our growing employee resource group (ERG) network and through conferences like Transcend, our first Women of Color Summit. Transcend brought together women of color across the company and around the globe, with over 20,000 women attending virtually, across 100+ cities. Of the women who attended, 95% said they felt a stronger sense of community and 92% felt more included at Google after attending the summit.
Training and support for women to thrive in tomorrow’s economy, in tech, and beyond
Learn about our workTraining and support for women to thrive in tomorrow’s economy, in tech, and beyond
Shifting the global landscape of work for women and girls is a critical part of how our company, and the tech industry overall, can reach its representation goals. Here are a few of our programs to equip women with skills to thrive in tech and beyond:
-
Building digital skills, encouraging community, and boosting confidence through initiatives like Mind the Gap, Women Will, Grow with Google: Black Women Lead, Women Techmakers, and #IamRemarkable
-
Providing a doorway to jobs in high-growth fields through Grow with Google’s Career Certificate programs
-
Supplying mentorship for women-led tech through the Google for Startups Accelerator for Women Founders
A Google Search tool supports women’s health by assessing postpartum depression.
Learn about the toolA Google Search tool supports women’s health by assessing postpartum depression.
Postpartum depression (PPD) is a severe form of depression that follows childbirth. When left untreated it can have adverse effects on both mother and child. We’re making it easier for new parents to take the first step toward getting mental health support by showing a clinically validated self-assessment tool in search results when people search the phrase “postpartum depression.” The tool provides information to evaluate the level of symptoms, along with links to additional resources.
Artificial intelligence could help reduce the time to diagnose breast cancer.
Read about our work with Northwestern MedicineReducing the time to breast cancer diagnosis through artificial intelligence
Each year, 40 million women undergo breast cancer screenings in the U.S. through mammography imaging. Many of these women must wait days or weeks to receive initial results. To shorten this waiting period and improve the patient experience, Northwestern Medicine and Google Health worked together on a clinical study that used machine learning to flag scans for further review by a radiologist on the same day. The aim of the study was to use AI to help physicians prioritize the most at-risk patients and improve the flow of care for everyone.
to support Black trans people affected by COVID-19
Learn about our workOur work to recognize and support Black trans lives
Violence against transgender people, especially trans women of color, is an ongoing crisis. In addition, many attacks go unreported due to widespread transphobia and misgendering of trans women. In 2020, Google Search Trends revealed the extent to which Americans were searching to understand this long-standing crisis. We responded with a campaign to honor Black trans lives, and a $500,000 Google.org grant, which helped to provide direct cash assistance to Black trans people for COVID-19 relief. As part of this effort, Googler volunteers also provided technical and marketing support to help MPJI collect, review, and process cash assistance applications from community members in need.
A content series promotes factual health and well-being info for young women.
Learn about #BodyofKnowledgeA content series promotes factual health and well-being info for young women.
In honor of International Day of the Girl, pediatricians from the American Academy of Pediatrics, girls’ rights defenders, and influencer Hailey Sani (she/her) teamed up with YouTube to tackle teens’ most asked health questions. The content series aims to provide girls with factual information and to promote open conversations about all things related to adolescent health and well-being.
How we’re helping to bridge rural India’s tech and online gender divide
Read about our workHow we’re working to bridge the online gender divide in rural India
As the world becomes increasingly connected, India has been the fastest-growing contributor. But connectivity is only foundational; we need to come together to ensure that everyone has the support needed to participate and equal opportunity to gain from these developments. We’re committed to help narrow the digital gender divide by providing women with mentorship and training to get online and succeed in tech.
-
The Internet Saathi initiative, a joint effort between Google and Tata Trusts, has equipped women in villages across rural India with basic internet skills. In 2021, the program reached its goal of training 30 million women across rural India.
-
To open up new opportunities for women in digital marketing, we launched DigiPivot in association with Avtar and ISB Executive Education. The 22-week program empowers participants through mentorship and Intentional Career Pathing.
-
As part of our Women Will initiative, we made a new commitment to support 1 million women in India to pursue their ambitions and improve their livelihoods through entrepreneurship complemented by community support, mentorship, and accelerator programs.
We’re sharing our learnings to improve gender representation in the industry.
Read about our workWe’re sharing our learnings to improve gender representation in the industry.
Following an inclusivity audit of our own marketing materials, we worked with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media to build a set of resources and principles to help us better include women and trans and/or gender expansive people in our stories. To help accelerate progress in the industry at large, we’ve made our All In inclusive marketing toolkit available for everyone to use.
Google employee’s quote
I would not be where I am today if not for those who worked tirelessly toward gender equity in generations past. Though this work is a long way from finished, I continue to be inspired by the dedication I have seen across Google and the impact it is having in the world.
