Creating a world where everyone feels a sense of belonging is crucial for enabling individuals to thrive. This year, Google continued its ongoing efforts to translate this belief into action by fostering greater connection, opportunity, access, and knowledge for all, to ensure that everyone can reach their full potential. As we reflect on 2023, here are three ways in which we advanced this work to support our employees and people worldwide:
1. Cultivating Pathways to Educational and Economic Opportunities
Collaborating with various partners, we facilitated access to educational experiences and developmental opportunities that empower individuals to enhance their skills, foster innovation, and grow their businesses. For instance, in partnership with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, we introduced the Immersive Research Experience program, designed to expand Native and Indigenous students’ awareness and access to Computer Science research. Additionally, through our support of Technolochicas via Grow with Google, we enabled 1,000 more young Latinas to gain the skills and experiences necessary to pursue careers in STEM fields.
Moreover, our efforts significantly contributed to economic empowerment. The launch of the Google for Startups Women Founders Fund this year supported female entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific who are leveraging AI to address pressing issues such as mental health and housing insecurity, thereby fostering business growth in India, Japan, and Korea.
2. Strengthening Inclusivity and Representation at Google
Across our organization, we developed new tools and achieved significant milestones as part of our ongoing commitment to create an inclusive environment at Google, where everyone feels empowered to unleash their potential. Building a workforce that accurately reflects the diversity of our world is a pivotal aspect of this initiative.
Our Diversity Annual Report for this year showcased the attainment of our racial equity commitment goal, demonstrating a 30% increase in the leadership representation of Black, Latino, and Native American employees, surpassing our 2025 target by three years. We also achieved our highest-ever female representation in tech, non-tech, and leadership roles globally.
Additionally, The Collective, our onboarding program for Black employees, part of our racial equity commitments, engaged over 1,800 participants across various countries, with an overwhelming 97% expressing the value of the experience. Furthermore, we provided support to our employees and offered relief and resources during the challenging times faced by people in Israel, Gaza, and beyond, affected by a terrorist attack and subsequent conflict.
3. Advancing Access, Support, and Representation in Our Products
Our ongoing product development and research efforts continued to harness technology’s potential to connect people to valuable information and experiences that resonate with their individual identities.
In collaboration with the National Congress of American Indians and our Google Aboriginal and Indigenous Network (GAIN) employee resource group, we introduced the Indigenous-owned attribute, making it easier to identify Indigenous-owned businesses on Search and Maps. This initiative aligns with our commitment to facilitate business growth through technology and develop products that reflect the diversity of our user base, complementing existing attributes for Asian-owned, Black-owned, disabled-owned, Latino-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, veteran-owned, and women-owned businesses.
Additionally, in Maps, our Accessible Places feature will now be displayed without requiring users to opt-in, providing information about places with step-free entrances, enhancing the confidence of individuals navigating the world, whether they are using a wheelchair or pushing a stroller.
Through Project Elevate Black Voices, a groundbreaking collaboration with Howard University launched this year, we aim to develop more responsive speech technology and product experiences tailored to the needs of Black communities.
As we look forward to 2024, we remain dedicated to learning, innovating, and forging partnerships to further our efforts in enabling people to feel more connected and supported as they pursue their full potential, thereby unlocking new possibilities that strengthen our interconnected world.
