As searches for LGBT-related terms, like “how to come out” and ‘LGBTQIA meaning”, increase year over year, it's clear that, now more than ever, we need to continue supporting Canada's growing LGBTQIA+ community and making sure we’re providing all members with equal opportunity and a voice.

That’s why, this Pride, Google is celebrating families big and small, chosen or inherited. Over 150 employees and their friends and family from our Toronto and Kitchener-Waterloo offices will be marching in the Toronto Pride Parade as part of #ThisIsFamily.

For the second year in a row, we're also marching alongside other companies within the wider Canadian tech community, including Facebook, LinkedIn, Microsoft, Twitter, Indeed, Buzzfeed and more, as "TechProud".

Earlier this week, TechProud collaborated with local non-profit Venture Out to host a panel and workshop series at our Toronto office for more than 150 LGBTQIA+ tech professionals. At Google, we believe in the importance of storytelling as a tool to help connect like-minded individuals and our goal with this Venture Out series was to support and inspire our burgeoning homegrown LGTBQIA+ tech community.

Here are a few other ways we are working to be a resource for LGBTQIA+ Canadians and the wider community around Pride:

• In Google Maps, this year's parade route is paved with ?rainbows?! 
• We’re helping Canadian businesses declare their establishments "LGBTQ+ Friendly" or "Transgender Safe Space" on their business listings in Google Maps and Google Search. 
• You'll also find rainbow "easter eggs" scattered through Google Search and G Suite, and you can join the fun from your desktop by switching your Gmail to a Pride theme for the month of June. 
• On YouTube, we're celebrating the LGBTQ+ creators who are #ProudToCreate a better future with their imagination, creativity, talent, and truth through our YouTube Spotlight Channel, Twitter, and Instagram. 
• Google Arts & Culture has a dedicated Pride collection celebrating LGBTQ+ history, with 20 exhibits and over 2,700 artifacts, part of which comes from the Stonewall Forever project. 
• Google.org has pledged to match up to $100,000 in total in donations to PFLAG, It Gets Better and GLAAD during the month of June. 

Throughout 2018, we want to continue supporting and celebrating diversity in the Canadian tech scene by acting as a better resource for LGTBQIA+ Canadians via our products and programs, improving diversity and inclusion across our offices and uniting Canadian tech leaders in support of the LGTBQIA+ community.

From our family to yours, Happy Pride Canada!!