Progress toward gender equity is progress for all

Part of any journey is celebrating the progress made along the way. We invite you to take a closer look at how inspiring women — at Google and beyond — are creating a more equitable future where all people can be exactly who and what they want to be.

5-minute read

Empowering women through representation

The 2022 International Women’s Day (IWD) Doodle transports us around the world and gives us a glimpse of women’s everyday lives across different cultures. The common thread in all seven illustrations is how women show up for themselves, their families, and their communities.

“We all wake up in the morning and have a purpose, big or small. It all matters.”

Thoka Maer, she/her, Art Director, Google Doodles team

Portrait of Thoka Maer, an art director on the Google Doodles team. She’s standing against a wall wearing a black shirt and has her hair up in a bun.

Thoka Maer is the East Germany-born, US-based Doodler behind the global Doodle. With many women still navigating the challenges of the pandemic, her desire is for all women “to be able to choose the lives they want to live, and receive the respect they deserve.” She hopes that by seeing others like themselves represented on Google’s homepage, women everywhere feel recognized and inspired.

Go behind the scenes of the IWD Doodle

The 2022 International Women’s Day Doodle

Illustration of a mother working from her living room, sitting on a couch with her children nearby.

A mother working from home with her children nearby

A surgeon in the operating room

Illustration of a woman watering plants in a garden with two children playing on a swing in the background.

A woman practicing self-care through her favorite hobby and time with loved ones

Illustration of a woman sitting in her handcrafting studio working on her art.

An artist perfecting her craft

A woman practicing self-care through her favorite hobby and time with loved ones

An artist perfecting her craft

Illustration of a fashion designer making adjustments to an outfit, with her team using sewing machines in the background.

A fashion designer working on her clothing line

Illustration of a mechanic outside of her garage teaching a young girl how to repair a motorcycle.

A motorcycle mechanic teaching her skills to the next generation

Illustration of a filmmaker capturing scenes with a long-focus lens in the wild, surrounded by trees.

A filmmaker capturing scenes in the wild

Accelerating equity for women across science, health, and media with AI

Googlers are committed to exploring how artificial intelligence (AI) can accelerate the ways gender inequities are tackled across industries. From recognizing female leaders lost in historical scientific archives, to improving women patient outcomes, to identifying gender disparities on screen — this is only the beginning. The potential of what AI can achieve is promising, spanning many more sectors and other identities beyond gender.

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4:57

Uncovering women in science with new machine-learning tools

The history of women in science tells a part of the ongoing story about the inequities that women face in the workplace. To uncover women-led contributions throughout time, Google Arts & Culture is collaborating with the Smithsonian Institution to mine its over 170-year-old archives.

Discover how one woman is using AI to help NASA track Asteroids

Uncovering women in science with new machine-learning tools

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4:57

Discover how one woman is using AI to help NASA track Asteroids

Worldwide, search interest for women and girls in science reached an all-time high in 2021.

Based on Google Trends data as of February 2022 measuring search interest from January 2004 to December 2021.

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2:22

Improving breast cancer detection using AI

Diagnosing breast cancer accurately and early with mammograms remains a challenge. This sparked Northwestern Medicine to partner with Google Health in exploring how AI can be used to reduce the time to diagnosis. As a next step, Google Health is partnering with Imperial College London and the U.K. National Health Service to explore the benefits AI can bring to screening specialists and patients in a clinical setting.

Explore how AI aims to improve detection

Improving breast cancer detection using AI

Watch the Video

2:22

Explore how AI aims to improve detection

Worldwide, mammography searches reached an all-time high during Breast Cancer Awareness Month in October 2021.

Based on Google Trends data as of February 2022 measuring search interest from January 2004 to December 2021. "Mammography" is a topic that aggregates search interest across all Google-supported languages.

Using AI to identify gender gaps on screen

In collaboration with the Geena Davis Institute on Gender in Media, the Google Media Understanding for Social Exploration (MUSE) team has been using machine learning to analyze media content. Years of data shows hard evidence of the gender gap in media representation.

In 2016, the first study measured gender representation in top box office movies, analyzing a 90-minute film in as little as 15 minutes. A subsequent 2019 study measured representation in global YouTube ads. Both revealed that men are seen more on camera but that films and ads with female-led or gender-balanced content get more views. A 2020 analysis of Super Bowl ads further reinforced these findings.

Looking ahead, the team is working to partner with researchers and AI ethicists to build better machine learning models that can scan video, images, audio, and text and identify even more identity traits — like ability, skin tone, and body type. The data-driven insights uncovered will continue not only to inform Google's work, but also to help marketers and the film industry improve representation and portrayals of women.

Portrait of Komal Singh, an Engineering Program Manager on the Google MUSE team. Smiling and sitting in a chair, she is turned to her left to face the camera and is wearing a blue outfit.

“As a mom, a woman of color, a person in tech, a STEM author, and an immigrant, I’m inspired by the possibilities Responsible AI can unlock. This nascent field has a unique opportunity to create equitable outcomes across many social scenarios.”

Komal Singh, she/her, Engineering Program Manager, Google MUSE team

Ongoing commitments

Explore other Google programs, products, and partnerships that are driving equity for women.

Upskilling

Women Will creates economic opportunity for women by offering custom training and resources to develop valuable digital skills.

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Entrepreneurship

Businesses can identify as owned, led, or founded by women by adding a “Women-owned” attribute to their profile on Google Search and Maps.

See how

A collage of five portraits of women of different ages and races.

Philanthropy

The 2021 Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls committed $25 million to fund organizations creating pathways to prosperity for women and girls.

Meet the organizations