Insight #1 — Hiring
Hiring changes drove our best year yet for women in tech globally and Black+ and Latinx+ people in the U.S.
Spotlight
Hear our Vice President of Recruiting, Brendan Castle, and Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for EMEA, LATAM, and Canada, Karina Govindji, discuss the work driving the progress we’ve made in hiring and the opportunities ahead.
2021 Diversity Annual Report
A Conversation on Hiring
Karina Govindji (Senior Director of Diversity, Equity, and Inclusion for EMEA, LATAM, and Canada) and Brendan Castle (Vice President of Recruiting) lead Google’s global hiring efforts.
How does Google approach hiring?
Brendan: Yeah, so part of Google Recruiting’s mission is to connect – identify and connect – with amazing talent and then hopefully bring that talent to Google. And we get to basically support the fueling of the growth of this company.
Karina: From an equity perspective, looking to really analyze our people, processes, and systems to drive equitable outcomes for all of our employees, our Googlers, and from an inclusion perspective, building toward that culture of inclusion and belonging across lines of difference. I think that’s one of the things that people often perhaps lose sight of when it comes to hiring. That it’s one part of this whole ecosystem.
Brendan: Yeah, it’s a great point, actually. A lot of people when they think of representation do only focus on kind of the front part – the hiring element. But as we’ve kind of talked about, and certainly the plans that we have in place, are really covering, you know, the hiring aspect, the progression aspect, and the retention aspect. So then when we do bring these amazing people to Google, then they’re looked after, they’re cared for. Sometimes it is about creating opportunities for Google, and other times it’s about providing the skills and the abilities that others haven’t been able to be afforded to for other opportunities out there in the marketplace.
What has Google learned?
Karina I think what’s been different is that you see that accountability everywhere. You really have seen leaders lean in to take accountability, to understand the role that they play, along with managers, along with all Googlers. There is no one hiring practice that is going to transform our representation for us or for any other organizations, which means that we have to trial several things at once and see what works. Where it has been difficult is where we’ve tried so many of those things at the same time and not been able to then give them the right priority, give them the right resourcing, and be able to demonstrate the impact.
Brendan: We don’t want to be in a world where it’s just apply, process, and hire. We want relationships. We don’t want culture fit. We want the add to the culture. And so to look at the frame of reference of, “I have no one like that person. I have no one with that experience. That would be amazing to bring into the organization.” That is really been quite a large kind of groundbreaking moment for us.
Karina: Persons with disabilities is clearly an area where we see now that we still have a lot of work to do, and we’ve made some really strong steps, particularly from a hiring perspective, to understand what does inclusion look like for a person with disability. What are they looking to us to provide, and how do we support at every stage of the process? One of the other partnerships that has been really powerful has been with our Black Googler Network and our staffing teams, who really partnered together to develop some of those long-term relationships and build our talent pipelines in the Black+ community in many countries around the world. But I think we also have to recognize that the work that we need to do mustn’t rely on the shoulders of our underrepresented groups. And I know that’s been a real challenge for us.
Brendan: The ability to be able to empathize and understand and support as we move forward is critical, and I think that’s why representation matters not only for the products that we deliver but for the interactions that we have.
How do you feel about the future of this work?
Karina: This work is difficult. This work is not a one and done. It’s not a tick box exercise, and there is no silver bullet. That’s the reality of the work that we are doing. We’re going to pilot things, and some of them are going to work and some of them won’t work. But what I’m really optimistic about is just that we have so many people leaning in. We know we’ve made some good progress, but we also know that there is so much more work to do.
Brendan: There’s been recognition that the systems that have been put in place have advantaged different communities and that we need to be able to step back and ensure that we create a process, that we create systems, that actually support all. And I think that’s what gives me the most hope is the recognition that we can have these conversations, that we can actually call it what it is, and be able to actually make progress. And as you rightly pointed out, progress can take time. And sometimes, frustratingly, feels slow especially at a company of our size, but I believe that when I look at 2020, we started that journey really leaning in.
Karina: We really have taken responsibility, understood that we needed to use the moment from last year to move into lasting change, and the set of commitments is of course for all of us to deliver, but it really has put an onus on us to make sure that we do it for the long term.
Brendan: Thanks, Karina.
Karina: Thank you, Brendan.
Our hiring data
Hiring by race / ethnicity
Hiring by gender
Intersectional hiring
What's working
We’re expanding access to hiring opportunities for underrepresented groups in many parts of the world by centering racial equity across every part of our hiring process — for leaders, hiring managers, and all Googlers.
Quadrupling the number of Googlers who have completed our culture-add training to 10,000. Focusing new training, like Candidate Advocacy Modules and Inclusive Hiring Steps, on fundamental processes to help managers and leaders understand their responsibility for building a model that allows great future Googlers to come and thrive.
Changing English proficiency requirements for internships to a “preferred” rather than “required” qualification in places like Brazil to open up more pathways for underrepresented people to apply.
Ensuring a fair hiring process where candidates are assessed on their merits, and setting aspirational goals to support equity throughout the hiring pipeline.
In the workplace
We’re making progress on our goals to continue expanding pathways to tech for underrepresented talent.
Working with external partner organizations to build community and provide resources to groups historically excluded from the tech industry. We strive to remove barriers to careers in tech, while creating a pathway for future Googlers across our entry, industry, and executive hiring. In 2020, we provided scholarships for nearly 200 students and industry technologists to attend the Grace Hopper Celebration, a gathering for women in technology.
Furthering our partnerships with Minority Serving Institutions. Read more about our investment in building equity in computing education, beginning with historically Black colleges and universities (HBCUs).
Building pathways to Google for people with disabilities and veterans through dedicated career resources, including interview advice, hiring teams, and on-demand conversations with current Googlers.
Inviting candidates to connect directly with our employee resource groups to learn more about the day-to-day experience at Google and our hiring process.
By 2025, we’ve committed to:
30%
Improve leadership representation of underrepresented groups by 30%. And we’re on track to meet this goal, for example YouTube’s Black+ leadership has increased by 23% in the last year.
2x
Double the number of Black+ Googlers in non-leadership roles in the U.S. And we’re already seeing progresss — for example, at YouTube we realized 136% and 18% growth in Black+ and Latinx+ hires in tech, respectively.
2x
Double the number of Black+ directors across EMEA (Europe, Middle East, and Africa) by 2023.
10,000
Grow our presence in cities that contribute to a high quality of life for Black+ Googlers by adding 10,000 jobs in Atlanta, Chicago, New York, and Washington, D.C., as well as continuing to focus on recruiting and hiring Black+ Googlers in London.
In the world
We’re actively building more pathways to tech for Black and Latinx communities in the U.S., and expanding access to STEM opportunities around the globe.
Cultivating the next generation of Black and Latinx tech leaders through continued investments in Code Next and Tech Exchange.
Equipping students with digital skills through the launch of Grow with Google’s HBCU Career Readiness Program.
Supporting Black and Latinx teachers with a $1 million Google.org grant, in addition to providing materials to make their classrooms more inclusive.
Growing opportunities for students from historically marginalized groups to pursue computer science research through 50 exploreCSR awards and career development for over 300 students with the CS Research Mentorship Program.
Created CS First Unplugged, an offline, no-device-needed activity designed to prioritize the needs of students learning at home, especially those in schools serving low-income communities, which have been disproportionately impacted by the pandemic. CS First Unplugged has been used by over 300,000 students all over the world, including in the U.S., Kenya, Nigeria, South Africa, and Japan.
In the world
We’re providing tools and support to empower women to succeed in tech and beyond.
Launched DigiPivot, a 22-week reskilling program in partnership with Avtar and the Centre for Executive Education at the Indian School of Business, to provide mentorship and programming for women in India to pivot into careers in digital marketing.
Launched the first global #IamRemarkable week in 2020, which reached 30,000 participants and 150+ companies across 70+ countries. To celebrate the power of diversity, inclusion, and allyship for women and underrepresented groups in the workplace. Designed to empower individuals to embrace their achievements, this digital experience featured 50+ influential speakers and business leaders, as well as 1,500+ self-promotion workshops.
Reached over 8,000 women in sub-Saharan Africa through a partnership with She Leads Africa. Our WomenWill program helped them navigate the negative socioeconomic impacts of COVID-19 through access to funding, digital skills, and financial literacy training, as well as mentorship and social networking.
Bringing the best of Google’s programs, products, people, and technology to women-led tech startups across the U.S. and Canada through our Google for Startups Accelerator: Women Founders Program.
Reached 50,000 students in Israel with virtual Mind the Gap programming, which aims to empower underrepresented students, especially young women, to pursue careers in STEM. The program has also made its way to England, Brazil, Japan, Poland, Ireland, Spain, South Korea, and Switzerland.
“This work is not a one and done. It’s not a tick-box exercise. And there is no silver bullet … We know we’ve made some good progress, but we also know that there is so much more work to do.”
Karina Govindji is the Senior Director of Diversity, Equity & Inclusion for EMEA, LATAM, and Canada at Google.