Category Archives: Official Google Blog

Insights from Googlers into our topics, technology, and the Google culture

Making our marketing, and Cannes, more accessible

Growing up as a child of deaf parents, Tony Lee, a designer on my team, says he always had one foot in the hearing world and one in the deaf world. When the pandemic separated Tony and his parents, they used Google's Live Transcribe app and Google Meet to communicate from afar and share important moments, like the birth of Tony’s son, who is the first grandchild on his side. This experience, which Tony shared in our commercial “A CODA Story,” touched people around the world. When we broaden the scope of our creative work, we truly see how powerful inclusive marketing can be.

People are exposed to around two million ads per year, but many say they don’t see themselves or their community accurately represented in them. Everybody deserves to feel a sense of belonging. As marketers, it’s our job to make sure the stories we tell are fully inclusive. This also means making our marketing accessible so that all disabled people, 15% of the global population, can fully access and engage with our content, products and experiences.

We want to give marketers, advertisers and all creatives the tools they need to make work that both resonates with people with disabilities and accurately represents the disabled community. That’s why today we are expanding our inclusive marketing toolkit All In to include new insights on accessible marketing. This in-depth playbook was created in partnership with disability inclusion experts, like Disability:IN and LaVant Consulting, and influential industry organizations like the American Association of Ad Agencies and Ad Council have endorsed it.

And what better place to introduce these insights than at the Cannes Lions International Festival of Creativity, where a key theme this year is representing the underrepresented in creative work. As the first official accessibility partner of Cannes Lions, we are working with Cannes to make sure the Festival itself is built for people with disabilities. This includes providing American Sign Language (ASL) interpreters and using Live Transcribe for real-time captioning. We’ll also make sure the Google Beach, our home base at Cannes, is wheelchair accessible and provides CART captioning, Live Transcribe on Google Pixels for real-time captioning and ASL interpreters so all of Google’s programming meets best practices for accessibility.

When we launched All In last year, our goal was to rally the industry to tap into our collective responsibility to create work where everyone feels seen. In that time, we have expanded our partnerships to include a wider breadth of experiences, including releasing the industry’s first in-depth research on plus-size inclusion in partnership with the National Association to Advance Fat Acceptance.

With the continued support of our partners to implement these insights, we are seeing meaningful improvement. For example, our annual audit of Google's consumer marketing creative found that our top campaigns in the U.S. in 2021 provided more prominent speaking roles for women and exceeded our goals for better representing members of Asian, Black and Latino/Latinx communities.

  • Text stating that our representation of Asian communities continues to surpass benchmarks. Four bar graphs showing that in 2018: 8% of our ads included Asian people, in 2019: 12% of our ads included Asian people, in 2020: 14% of our ads included Asian people, and in 2021: 15% of our ads included Asian people. Text stating that 5.9% of the U.S. population identifies as Asian.

    2021 Key Insight: Most Asian people in our ads are perceived to be East Asian, so we have work to do to include all Asian communities.

  • Text stating that Black representation is thoughtful and strong. Four bar graphs showing that in 2018: 23% of our ads included Black people, in 2019: 32% of our ads included Black people, in 2020: 20% of our ads included Black people, and in 2021: 35% of our ads included Black people. Text stating that 13.4% of the U.S. population identifies as Black or African American.

    2021 Key Insight: Black representation is consistently thoughtful, expanding beyond stereotypical portrayals of dancing, music and sports.

  • Text stating that we need to further amplify Indigenous stories. Four bar graphs showing that in 2018: 0.2% of our ads included Indigenous people, in 2019: 0.1% of our ads included Indigenous people, in 2020: 0.2% of our ads included Indigenous people, and in 2021: 0.8% of our ads included Indigenous people. Text stating that 1.3% of the U.S. population identifies as American Indian/Native American and Alaska Native.

    2021 Key Insight: We need to prioritize more prominent and thoughtful portrayals of Indigenous people to reach U.S. population demographic levels.

  • Text stating that our representation of Latinos/Latinx people is trending upwards. Four bar graphs showing that in 2018: 4% of our ads included Latinos/Latinx people, in 2019: 6% of our ads included Latinos/Latinx people, in 2020: 6% of our ads included Latinos/Latinx people, and in 2021: 10% of our ads included Latinos/Latinx people. Text stating that 18.5% of the U.S. population identifies as Hispanic or Latino.

    2021 Key Insight: While we still need more Latino/Latinx representation, we've dramatically decreased the presence of key stereotypes in our work featuring these communities.

  • Text stating that we are portraying more LGBTQ+ stories than ever. Four bar graphs showing that in 2018: 3% of our ads included people perceived to be part of the LGBTQ+ community, in 2019: 1% of our ads included people perceived to be part of the LGBTQ+ community, in 2020: 1.5% of our ads included people perceived to be part of the LGBTQ+ community, and in 2021: 6% of our ads included people perceived to be part of the LGBTQ+ community. Text stating that 7.1% of U.S. adults self-identify as LGBTQ+.

    2021 Key Insight: More than 3/4 of portrayals convey LGBTQ+ representation without relying on Pride symbols.

  • Text stating that we are making progress at including people with disabilities, but still have more room to grow. Four bar graphs showing that in 2018: 3% of our ads included people perceived to have an apparent disability, in 2019: 1% of our ads included people perceived to have an apparent disability, in 2020: 1% of our ads included people perceived to have an apparent disability, and in 2021: 5.6% of our ads included people perceived to have an apparent disability. Text stating that 15% of the world’s population experiences some form of disability.

    2021 Key Insight: While we still tend to over-index on portrayals of people who use wheelchairs, we have dramatically decreased the presence of other disability stereotypes in our work.

  • Text stating that women are included in the majority of our ads and now have a nearly equal share of speaking time. Four bar graphs showing that in 2018: women had 47% of the speaking time in our video ads, in 2019: women had 43% of the speaking time in our video ads, in 2020: women had 46% of the speaking time in our video ads, and in 2021: women had 49% of the speaking time in our video ads. Text stating that 50.8% of the U.S. population identifies as Female.

    2021 Key Insight: Over 67% of our ads include women and nearly all of them avoid key stereotypes.

We’ve also made progress in how we represent people with disabilities in our ads, but still have a ways to go. In 2021, disabled people were represented in 5.6% of our ads, a 5x increase from the previous year. We also dramatically reduced disability stereotypes in our work by completely eliminating depictions of people with disabilities as dependent on others or as friends only with other people with disabilities, and we avoided inspirational tropes in 96% of those ads. But we know it’s not enough to simply build creative that authentically features people with disabilities and their intersectional identities, we need to make sure that all disabled people can access that creative. That’s why we’re equally focused on applying the latest accessible marketing best practices, now shared on All In.

We’ll continue to take steps forward. Next up, we’ll expand All In globally, rolling out audience insights in more countries later this year. We also plan to partner with brands across a number of industries to invest in inclusive marketing initiatives across the globe and share our collective learnings with the broader creative field.

More than 20 years ago, Google started with an ambitious goal to organize the world’s information and make it universally accessible and useful. We can only accomplish our mission when everyone can see themselves reflected in what we do. Our commitment to ending harmful stereotypes, portraying underrepresented communities and addressing inequality in advertising is not only our responsibility, it’s also our motivation and guiding principle. We’re encouraged to see so many others on this inclusive marketing journey with us and look forward to sharing ideas and learnings this week at Cannes and in the future.

On World Refugee Day, three Googlers tell their stories

By the end of 2021, the number of people around the world who were forcibly displaced totaled a staggering 89.3 million. Of this milestone number, 27.1 million are refugees.

But behind these massive numbers are individuals with their own unique stories, journeys and experiences. In honor ofWorld Refugee Day, we sat down with three Googlers to hear about their background as refugees and the stories that brought them to Google.

From left to right, three headshots featuring the interviewees.

From left to right: Miher Ahmad, Account Strategist; Augustine Wiah, Product Operations; Mustapha Fadel, Analytical Lead Associate

Can you tell us about how you got to Google?

Mustapha: My journey started in Southern Lebanon, in a small city called Tyre. At the age of 4, I came with my family to the U.S. to flee the war and get medical treatment for my sister who was suffering from cancer. When my sister passed away, my family and I did a lot of soul searching and asked the question, “Should we stay or should we go?” Given that our property back home was lost in the war, we decided to start over in the U.S. At just 7 years old, I was translating for my parents and helping them navigate daily tasks and life in the U.S. As a result, I had to learn to be autonomous and independent much more quickly than the average child. This resilience and grit paved the way to Google, which — as cliche as it sounds — has always been my dream workplace. Today, I’m an Analytical Lead Associate for the Large Customer Sales team.

Miher: I was born in Kabul, Afghanistan. As a child, we were forced to flee our homeland from drought, famine and war. Eventually, after being separated from my father for almost five years, we were reunited in Antwerp, Belgium, which became my new home. I vividly remember the day of our arrival and being so excited to go to school and play with other children. After graduating university with a focus on finance, I didn’t initially consider working for Google — but after some research, I gave it a shot. During the interview process, I was so amazed by the culture and decided to pursue working for Google, which gave me the opportunity to work in a dynamic environment with amazing people as an Account Strategist.

Augustine: The Liberian Civil War forced many into exile, including my family. In 1993, we sought refuge in Ghana and I spent most of my formative years at a refugee camp there. As a kid, you’re almost unaware of the magnitude of suffering around you because mothers everywhere, like mine, do everything they can to provide a sense of normality. Fast forward 13 years, I found myself in Oklahoma City where the possibility of college and a career now seemed within reach, but the potential of working at Google seemed impossible. Upon graduating from college, I started my career in technical recruiting and it was this opportunity that exposed me to the larger tech industry. After three years, I eventually landed a role with Google as a technical recruiter and never looked back.

How has your background influenced your work?

Augustine: I’ve always looked towards my community for safety. Navigating a new culture and custom in the U.S. at the age of 15 strengthened my ability to connect with different people. Whether I’m engaging with senior leaders and peers or volunteering on a project, my ability to connect with people and build authentic relationships has been the single most important way my background has influenced my work.

Miher: Since I was young, I’ve had to learn how to navigate new and unknown environments. This helped me to develop a good understanding on how to gear my communication towards a diverse set of people with different needs and interests — especially when working with colleagues, clients and stakeholders.

What motivates you at your job?

Mustapha: For me, my motivation to succeed is akin to my motivation to survive. Coming to the U.S. as a child, we had no money to support ourselves. No generational wealth to lean on. No English skills. No degrees to obtain jobs. The reality for many immigrants — refugees in particular — is that you are simultaneously responsible for your own survival in addition to that of your parents and future children. My success is directly correlated to three generations’ ability to live with comfort and dignity, and there is no plan B or backup to lean on.

Augustine: I’m inspired by the opportunities for growth. Once upon a time, opportunities were scarce and the possibilities of a brighter tomorrow were faint. I remind myself of the opportunities I’ve been afforded, and how showing up has had a material and substantive impact on my family.

What advice do you have for people who want to work at Google?

Miher: Be yourself and be confident. Don’t be afraid to ask for feedback, guidance and mentorship from others. There is so much we can learn from each other!

Augustine: Remain authentic and work tirelessly on improving your strengths. There is no “average” Googler, so lean into your unique strengths. If you can optimize for that, there’s a place for you at Google.

Mustapha: Tap into your empathy, compassion, creativity and your patience. The rest will follow.

Ongoing support for refugees and displaced people

My family has been seeking refuge for generations. During the Trujillo regime, my grandfather fled the Dominican Republic for Cuba with nothing but 20 pesos sewn into his pants. 30 years later they were forced to flee again. My eight year old father landed in Florida safely ahead of my grandparents, but a planned four month separation stretched to four and a half years due to the Cuban Missile Crisis.

The International Rescue Committee (IRC) helped reunify and resettle my family, as they have for so many others. I joined Google.org in 2019, and through Google’s philanthropic arm I’ve been lucky enough to work with organizations that support refugees, including the IRC, to support those who find themselves in situations like my parents and grandparents — having to leave their homes for the safety of their families. Since 2015, Google has not only given over $45 million to organizations supporting refugees through Google.org, it’s also provided support through our products and enabled Google employees to volunteer.

Connecting refugees with resources quickly

We’ve found that time is one of the most important factors in delivering effective humanitarian support. Between 60-80% of aid sector funding is spent on logistics alone. To help power faster humanitarian action, Google.org is announcing a $1 million grant to NeedsList along with a Google.org Fellowship. Through a free, public version of their crisis response software, NeedsList plans to move over $50 million of resources to local aid organizations, supporting 10 million people.

NeedsList is also operating Welcome.US’ Welcome Exchange to help those arriving from Afghanistan and Ukraine with housing, employment, and technology resources. Welcome.US has brought togethera coalition of over 35 CEOs, co-chaired by our CEO Sundar Pichai, to scale private sector support for those seeking refuge. As part of our participation in the Welcome.US CEO Council, Google has contributed $1 million in grant funding, $1 million in donated search ads, and 30,000 Pixel phones to Welcome.US.

A screenshot of the Welcome.US’ Welcome Exchange platform that shows how needs and offers are displayed in the northeastern US.

Google.org has also supported Signpost, a platform which provides information on critical services like legal rights, accommodation, transportation and medical care, since the 2015 civil war in Syria and through the Venezualean refugee crisis in 2019. This year, supported by 15 Google.org Fellows and additional grant funding, Signpost partnered with United for Ukraine to build out unitedforukraine.org — an effort to help displaced people find housing, legal aid and psychological support. This project, along with Google.org grantee Outright Action International’s Ukraine Emergency Fund for LGBTQ+ refugees, are providing meaningful support for those affected by the war in Ukraine.

Helping through our products, tools and spaces

Teams across Google have also created products and provided space and support to refugee populations over the years.

  • Google Search and Maps provides information to identify border crossings and avoid trouble, including SOS Alerts and temporarily disabling some live features to help protect the safety of local communities.
  • Google Translate helps refugees overcome language barriers through features like offline translation and camera mode.
  • Google for Startups Campus in Warsaw opened its doors for local nonprofits to provide legal and psychological support to refugees and temporary office space for Ukrainian startups.
  • YouTube is partnering with the UNHCR and Welcome.US to raise awareness about the scale of communities affected by refugee crises, from Syria to Venezuela to the Democratic Republic of Congo, and to support refugee resettlement around the world.

Connecting UK businesses with tech talent

Since inception, Google has innovated with technology to narrow the opportunity gap that exists in education, access to information, job mobility and more – for people around the world. We believe sustainable economic growth is only possible when there is inclusive growth, so we work to equip people with the skills needed to participate in the digital economy.

Grow with Google, our digital skills training program, has trained 94 million people around the world, and more than 800,000 people in the U.K. From Grow with Google, we launched Google Career Certificates, which provides job seekers with accessible paths to careers in high-growth sectors, including data analytics, IT support, project management, user experience design and digital marketing. Seventy-eight percent of U.K. Certificate graduates report seeing a positive impact on their career within six months, including a raise or a new job.

Today, we are announcing the creation of a UK Employer Consortium – a group of employers, including the BBC, BT Group, Deloitte and John Lewis Partnership, that will consider those who have earned the Certificates for jobs. We know one entity acting alone will never be as effective as many coming together, and we have long been committed to partnering with others. For example, we’ve worked with organizations like the Department for Work and Pensions and The Prince’s Trust to offer 10,000 scholarships to job seekers to help them complete a Certificate, and beginning today we will be making another 10,000 scholarships available.

We believe the Consortium will play an important part, alongside the U.K.’s focus on higher education, in building a digitally skilled workforce and filling the growing number of open technology roles in the country. Almost half of U.K. employers have reported they are struggling to recruit for digital roles, and the Certificate fields have been chosen specifically in response to the high numbers of open positions in those areas.

Ousman, a Certificate graduate, speaks to members of the Employer Consortium at an event at Google.

Ousman, a Certificate graduate, speaks to members of the Employer Consortium

Google is committed to helping employers from across the U.K. meet amazing people like Jelena Stephenson, who I was fortunate to speak with last year when I met some of the first people in the U.K. to take part in our Certificates program. Jelena worked for 15 years as a teacher in Serbia. After her husband was diagnosed with leukemia, they decided to move to London, where she quickly found that despite her strong background in education, she was unable to get a job as a teacher. After receiving a scholarship for the Googler Career Certificate in Project Management, Jelena regained the confidence she had lost while out of work, and found a role as a digital project coordinator.

I have been proud to see first-hand the progression of our program in the U.K. and the impact it has had on people like Jelena. We look forward to further evolving our program as we continue to build the UK Consortium and connect growing businesses with talented jobseekers.

Stadia Savepoint: May updates

It’s time for another round of our Savepoint series, where we recap the new games, features and updates available on Stadia.

A video summarizes the new Stadia store games, Pro titles, features and other exciting updates to the Stadia platform in May 2022.
10:25

In May, players whipped up a cooking frenzy in Overcooked! All You Can Eat and tried a new spin on the tower defense genre with Elemental War 2, which includes support for Crowd Choice on Stadia. Some players even turned their clocks back to the Stone Age with Far Cry Primal, fending off fierce predators in an open world adventure.

Active Stadia Pro subscribers enjoyed five new games in their library of more than 50 titles, including Lumote: The Mastermote Chronicles, which launched on the Stadia store at the same time as other platforms. Pro subscribers also claimed OUTRIDERS, PAW Patrol The Movie: Adventure City Calls, Kaze and the Wild Masks and Cities: Skylines to play in seconds. It’s easy to try out new games like these in the Pro library, especially since creating a new Stadia account includes an offer for a one-month trial of Stadia Pro at no additional cost.

For seasoned Stadia players or anyone interested in trying cloud gaming for the first time, Click to Play Trials offer a chance to play full games at no additional cost and with no Stadia account required. In May, we continued to experiment with trials on Stadia by adding two new games — Overcooked! All You Can Eat and Cities: Skylines. Try these two games, or the 24 other active trials available, on your computer browser or your phone.

A white Stadia webpage shows the Stadia logo and two game key art images, including black boxes underneath each that display how long each trial lasts.

In May, two new games added trials for players to enjoy on Stadia at no additional cost and without creating a Stadia account — just Click to Play.

Last month, we refreshed game pages on the Stadia store for an updated look at game content, offers and sales. And in May, we made it easier to access games on Stadia even when you’re not logged in. Now, players can find their favorite games with just a quick search on Google.

A GIF shows a mostly black and blue video displaying a Google search results page transforming into quick gameplay on Stadia in Risk of Rain 2 with a character fighting purple enemies.

Search for Risk of Rain 2 on Google and jump into the game in seconds. Check out its Click to Play Trial, which players can try at no additional cost and without a Stadia account.

Stadia Pro Updates

May content launches on Stadia

Stadia announcements in May:

  • DC League of Super-Pets: The Adventures of Krypto and Ace (Coming July 15, 2022)
  • DreamWorks Dragons: Legends of The Nine Realms
  • L.O.L Surprise! B.B’s Born To Travel (Coming October 7, 2022)
  • Mighty Switch Force! Collection
  • My Little Pony: A Maretime Adventure (Coming September 30, 2022)
  • Star Trek Prodigy: Supernova (Coming October 2022)
  • The Elder Scrolls Online – High Isle expansion
  • Those Who Remain (Coming July 2022)
  • Through The Darkest of Times

As always, we’ll be back next month to share another recap. In the meantime, keep an eye on the Stadia Community Blog, Facebook, YouTube and Twitter for the latest on new games, features and updates.

How a food cart gig prepared this Googler to be a designer

When Conrad Bassett-Bouchard was interviewing for a product design job at Google, there was one question he didn’t think he could answer. “I was going through my final round of interviews and I was told they would ask me to talk about my ‘cross-functional collaboration’ experience,” he says. A grad student who hadn’t worked in tech before, Conrad didn’t think he had anything to talk about. “But my recruiter said to me, ‘Well, didn’t you work on a food truck?’”

Conrad had, in fact, worked on a food truck — well, actually a food cart. And it’s an infamous one, if you live in Portland, Oregon, like Conrad and me. The food cart, which closed in recent years, specialized in grilled cheeses of every sort, shape and variety. Instead of moving locations like the typical food truck would, the cart took up residence next to a converted bus that served as seating for customers. But Conrad learned more than how to make the perfect grilled cheese: I recently caught up with him to find out about how his culinary past helped him land a role at — and succeed within — Google.

Lesson 1: How to stay cool under pressure

As a UX designer currently working on the Google Fi team, Conrad’s job is to lay out what an app or other type of software will look like in a way that’s fun and engaging for a person to use. It’s a role that requires a lot of input, from research to product teams, so he knows what it’s like to balance various needs. “You’ve got lots of different people who have lots of different perspectives,” he says. “And my job is to synthesize these perspectives and understand what they’re saying, and ultimately use that to create something people will want to use.” There’s a certain amount of pressure that can come with his role — and his job in food service prepared him for it. He remembers that on the busiest days at the cart, hoards of people would be ordering, different requests would be thrown around and the crew would have multiple grills full of multiple grilled sandwiches…all grilling simultaneously. “We’d be taking in directions from every angle,” he says. “And…honestly, that was way harder than even my busiest days at Google!”

  • Three people stand at the window of a food cart, all looking out toward the camera.

    Conrad and some of his coworkers inside the food cart.

  • A grilled cheese sandwich with onions in a paper to-go bowl.

    This was Conrad’s final grilled cheese creation, which he made for his dad. The recipe calls for sourdough bread, red onions, pesto, avocado, three cheeses and…bacon.

  • An old school bus with the back doors open and stairs leading up to it. Next to it are wooden picnic tables.

    A look at the outdoor seating for customers at the food cart.

Lesson 2: How to get into a flow state when things are fast-paced

Speaking of those hectic days…Conrad sort of liked them. “The best part of working there was definitely when we were really busy and I was on the grill — which could fit 16 sandwiches at a time.” Conrad needed to know how grilled each sandwich was, what was on them, what lettuces or sauces needed to come next. “You would get completely in the zone, and everything would just be working out,” he says. “It was definitely an adrenaline rush.” In fact, he says it feels similar to the flow state he can get into when he’s designing — a sort of perfect work mindset where he’s able to get through tasks fluidly, moving from solving one thing to the next. It doesn’t mean that the work is easy, it’s just that all the tools to find the answers are right there, at the right moment.

Lesson 3: How to find your peers, purpose…and pods

“Maybe this makes me sound like a food snob…but Portland and Austin have food carts — they stay in one place, they’re stationary,” Conrad says. “Everywhere else, you’ve got tons of food trucks…but that’s a whole different experience.” The difference, he says, is community. At a food cart, for example, other food carts will pop up — maybe a beer cart, too, or maybe a brewery will take over the empty building next store. “Then you’ll see a clothing pop-up nearby, someone adds a fire pit and a roof cover,” he says. “A little community forms around a food cart pod.” (Again, as a fellow Portlander, he’s extremely right.) “People were just really happy to be there — it wasn’t just about picking up food and walking away,” he adds. That welcoming vibe is what made Conrad want to work there, and it’s something that’s important to him at Google, too. He also mentions that the food cart owner stood out among others in the food industry; he really cared about the people who worked for him. Likewise, Conrad says, the tech industry can be cutthroat, but at Google — and especially within his direct team — he’s always felt like there’s a sense that his colleagues and managers want to take care of each other.

Louder, prouder, safer: Get ready for Pride 2022

Wherever you happen to be celebrating Pride this year, the standout moments are bound to be the Pride parades. After a quiet couple of years due to the pandemic, you can be sure this year’s processions will be bigger, louder and prouder than ever before.

The other good news is that because more than half a million businesses across Europe have now activated the ‘LGBTQ-friendly’ and ‘transgender safe space’ attribute on Google, it’s now easier to know where you’ll get a warm welcome, and feel part of the community.

Let’s wander the routes of some of Europe’s most popular Pride processions, and check out some of the best LGBTQ+ friendly places you can find along the way.

First stop, London

It’s a massive year for London, which is preparing to celebrate 50 years since its first official U.K. Gay Pride Rally in 1972. Back then, just 2,000 people took part. This year, well over a million will attend – making it Europe’s largest free music festival.

When:

Saturday, July 2, 2022

Starts/ends:

Portland Place to Whitehall

Don’t miss:

Dover Street Market

LGBTQ+ friendly ?

18-22 Haymarket, SW1Y 4DG

This eclectic multi-story clothes emporium was founded by Comme des Garçons’ Rei Kawakubo and her husband, Adrian Joffe. It’s definitely worth a look.

The Harold Pinter Theatre

LGBTQ+ friendly ?

Panton St, SW1Y 4DN

This charming Victorian theater opened in 1881, and has staged many world-famous productions over the years, including the West End debut of “The Rocky Horror Show.”

Calling in at Copenhagen

Copenhagen’s Gay Pride Parade has been held every year since 1996. Around 13,000 people are set to join the fun, with a further 200,000 spectators expected to line the route.

When:

Saturday, August 20, 2022

Starts/ends:

Frederiksberg City Hall to Studiestræde

Don’t miss:

Social Brew

LGBTQ+ friendly ?

Vester Farimagsgade 3, 1606 København

A perfect little spot to grab brunch, hand brewed coffee, outrageously good croissants, microbrewed beers, wines and most importantly good vibes.

Frankies Pizza Frederiksberg

LGBTQ+ friendly ?

Allegade 2, 2000 Frederiksberg

If you’re looking for delicious and affordable pizza surrounded by pink balloons and neon signs, today is your lucky day.

Touching down in Athens

Greece hosted its first official Pride celebration in 2005, and has never looked back. This year, more than 100,000 people are expected to head into the capital to enjoy the parties and famously-colorful pride parade.

When:

Saturday, June 18, 2022

Starts/ends:

Syntagma Square

Don’t miss:

Spit Jack

LGBTQ+ friendly ?

Skoufou 10, 105 57

Meat lovers are in for a treat at this friendly and cozy eatery in the heart of buzzing Athens. Perfect for a quick lunch or sumptuous evening meal to round off the day.

Last stop, Madrid

Madrid’s Gay Pride is known as the Orgullo Gay de Madrid, or MADO for short. The Pride Parade is undoubtedly the climax of the festivities, with more than two million people enjoying the floats, live music and reading of the manifesto of freedom, inclusion and diversity.

When:

Saturday July 9, 2022

Starts/ends:

Atocha Station to Plaza de Colón

Don’t miss:

Berkana

LGBTQ+ friendly ?

Welcome to Spain’s oldest LGBTQ+ bookstore. Run by a lesbian couple, it stocks a wide range of gay books, novels, essays, biographies, comics, and more. Why not learn more about its founder, Mili Hernández.

Show local businesses your support

However you’re planning to celebrate Pride this year, be sure to check which shops, restaurants and other places are showing up as LGBTQ+ friendly on Google Maps and Search. Just look for the rainbow flag below their contact details and phone number. Remember to show them your support by leaving reviews, posting photos of your visit, and encouraging others from your community to drop by next time they’re in town.

Supporting evolving COVID information needs

COVID-19 has transformed the way we live, work and interact with each other. Over the course of the pandemic, finding timely, reliable and locally relevant information has been critically important, and people have often turned to Google first to make sense of the new environment. Ever since Search interest in coronavirus hit an all-time high in March 2020 worldwide, people’s searches have changed as we’ve moved into new phases of the pandemic.

As the pandemic evolves, so do people’s information needs. Our goal is to continue providing timely, fresh and actionable information as some people return to offices, explore travel around the world and navigate everyday life in the safest ways possible.

Supporting evolving testing needs

At-home testing is a helpful and convenient way to minimize community spread through awareness of COVID status. In the United States alone, search interest in “at home covid tests” increased by 170% in May 2022. So starting this month in the U.S., people can more easily find at-home COVID test kits on Google Search. With a quick Search, you can quickly see at-home testing kits available in stores, and nearby testing information provided by local health authorities.

A smartphone screen showing search results for “at home covid testing”

Empowering travelers

When you search on Google for travel information, you can see if there’s an advisory or any entry restrictions at your destination, including testing, quarantine or immunization requirements. Last spring, we introduced a new option to turn on tracking for these advisories right from the Search results page. You receive an email if the travel requirements change for your selected destination if you’re logged into your Google account. For the United States, you can also view and track travel advisories at the state level.

An animation of a smartphone screen showing alerts about COVID travel restrictions on Google Search and Gmail

Continuing to support vaccination efforts

With a quick Google Search, you can already find timely information on vaccinations, including boosters, specific vaccine types and appointment availability. This information also includes support for pediatric vaccinations as kids head to summer camp and participate in other seasonal activities. In the U.S, when parents search for “covid vaccine for kids” they can quickly find healthcare providers that offer COVID pediatric vaccinations.

Amplifying authoritative information

Collaborating with trusted partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been critical to getting people the information they need at the right time. We’ve also helped amplify important messages from public health authorities by donating Google Search advertising and related expert assistance. Through this initiative, the WHO has provided more than two billion COVID-related public service announcements, connecting nearly 250 million people to high-quality COVID-19 Information. We recently pledged an additional $150 million in donated Search ads — bringing our total in-kind commitment to more than $1 billion with the overarching goal of connecting people to authoritative information related to COVID-19 and related topics as they search on Google.

To make sure people can easily find the information they need about COVID, we’ve built and grown a number of features that further our goal of making healthcare information more accessible to everyone. As the world continues to navigate COVID, Google remains committed to helping reduce friction in accessing health information and care for all.

Supporting evolving COVID information needs

COVID-19 has transformed the way we live, work and interact with each other. Over the course of the pandemic, finding timely, reliable and locally relevant information has been critically important, and people have often turned to Google first to make sense of the new environment. Ever since Search interest in coronavirus hit an all-time high in March 2020 worldwide, people’s searches have changed as we’ve moved into new phases of the pandemic.

As the pandemic evolves, so do people’s information needs. Our goal is to continue providing timely, fresh and actionable information as some people return to offices, explore travel around the world and navigate everyday life in the safest ways possible.

Supporting evolving testing needs

At-home testing is a helpful and convenient way to minimize community spread through awareness of COVID status. In the United States alone, search interest in “at home covid tests” increased by 170% in May 2022. So starting this month in the U.S., people can more easily find at-home COVID test kits on Google Search. With a quick Search, you can quickly see at-home testing kits available in stores, and nearby testing information provided by local health authorities.

A smartphone screen showing search results for “at home covid testing”

Empowering travelers

When you search on Google for travel information, you can see if there’s an advisory or any entry restrictions at your destination, including testing, quarantine or immunization requirements. Last spring, we introduced a new option to turn on tracking for these advisories right from the Search results page. You receive an email if the travel requirements change for your selected destination if you’re logged into your Google account. For the United States, you can also view and track travel advisories at the state level.

An animation of a smartphone screen showing alerts about COVID travel restrictions on Google Search and Gmail

Continuing to support vaccination efforts

With a quick Google Search, you can already find timely information on vaccinations, including boosters, specific vaccine types and appointment availability. This information also includes support for pediatric vaccinations as kids head to summer camp and participate in other seasonal activities. In the U.S, when parents search for “covid vaccine for kids” they can quickly find healthcare providers that offer COVID pediatric vaccinations.

Amplifying authoritative information

Collaborating with trusted partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been critical to getting people the information they need at the right time. We’ve also helped amplify important messages from public health authorities by donating Google Search advertising and related expert assistance. Through this initiative, the WHO has provided more than two billion COVID-related public service announcements, connecting nearly 250 million people to high-quality COVID-19 Information. We recently pledged an additional $150 million in donated Search ads — bringing our total in-kind commitment to more than $1 billion with the overarching goal of connecting people to authoritative information related to COVID-19 and related topics as they search on Google.

To make sure people can easily find the information they need about COVID, we’ve built and grown a number of features that further our goal of making healthcare information more accessible to everyone. As the world continues to navigate COVID, Google remains committed to helping reduce friction in accessing health information and care for all.

Why you shouldn’t let failures define you

Growing up, mathematics was not one of Jade Lee’s favorite subjects. “I was absolutely terrible at it!” she says. “But when I got older, I recognized there are very few of us who are naturally good at mathematics.” With time and effort her skills improved, so much so that today she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics at the London School of Economics. There, she also volunteers her time as a Women Techmakers Ambassador and Google Developer Student Club Lead.

While she enjoys math much more than when she was younger, Jade still believes that it is a “ruthless subject.” Since there is typically a right or wrong answer, it’s not uncommon to make mistakes or experience failure. And since Jade was often one of the only women in her classes, she was anxious about making these mistakes in front of her classmates, and felt she generally lacked the confidence of her male counterparts. “For me, there was always a doubtful feeling at the back of my head that I didn’t belong there or that I was only fooling myself to continue down this route,” she says.

But when she joined the Women Techmakers Ambassador program last year, two big things started to shift for her. First, she says, she was inspired by the “beautiful community of women around the world pursuing technology.” She saw the power of having women role models and a supportive community in a male-dominated industry, and quickly took the initiative to build this community herself — including hosting events that brought more than 500 female students together to become more involved in STEM and learn about technological careers across industries.

Through sharing experiences and challenges with other women in the field, she felt less alone. She also started to see that being one of the only women could also mean new opportunities: “You are breaking new ground, setting new expectations and changing the industry bit by bit for the better,” she says.

After becoming an Ambassador, she also started to develop a new relationship with failure. Bolstered by the support of her community, she started to feel her confidence grow, which helped her speak up more. And instead of being afraid to get something wrong, she recognized she was actually learning a lot more from her mistakes than her successes. “Those who grow and develop as STEM students are those who embrace those failures, learn from their mistakes and reflect on their experiences,” she says. “Failure gives us an opportunity to learn, be challenged and thrive.”

Jade is excited about her future, and wants to continue pushing towards gender equity in STEM. Her advice to other women looking to break into the industry: “Embrace the challenge, learn from the difficulties and be grateful for the experiences you’ve had.”

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