Chryssa Jones, Women Techmakers Ambassador, shares her story about moving into tech and advocating for equity and inclusion.
Chryssa Jones, Women Techmakers Ambassador, shares her story about moving into tech and advocating for equity and inclusion.
Google is contributing up to $1M to the NBA Foundation to support career and development opportunities for Black youth
A new report from the Geena Davis Institute, Google Research and USC uses AI to analyze representation in media.
This Trans Awareness Week, we’re spotlighting TransTech Social, an incubator for LGBTQ talent, and trans-owned clothing brand Life on Mars.
Today's shoppers are increasingly looking for businesses that share their values. According to a recent global study, purpose-driven buyers now make up the largest segment of consumers, with 44% choosing products and brands based on how well they align with their values.
If you’re a business owner who prioritizes values such as sustainability, you can let your customers know you care. Many are already using Business Profile attributes on Search and Maps to showcase their commitment to social change.
I don’t think I’ll ever forget the feeling of walking through the newly opened 28th floor of Google Korea. The space has been reimagined with a focus on “universal design” — meaning it was designed to be accessible to people of all abilities.
The idea for this space started a few years ago, when I was talking to other members of the Disability Alliance Employee Resource Group (ERG) in Korea about their web accessibility project— a conversation that then shifted to improving accessible design in the office. Was our office truly as accessible as it could be? Did everyone feel that they could do their best work without any restrictions due to their abilities? We pinpointed some areas for improvement, and that sparked a desire to make a change.
The Disability Alliance then partnered with Google's Real Estate & Workplace Services team to explore how we could implement some of these changes, especially as we expanded our space in Gangnam. Bit by bit, we made improvements to our existing office space, from adding braille to meeting room signs to adding drop-down thresholds for doors.
And when we had the opportunity to influence a brand new floor, we embraced the concept of universal design to co-design alongside the REWS team. Throughout the whole process, we incorporated feedback and co-designed with many people in our community— including Inho, a software engineer with a visual impairment. The design team made all designs and plans available in braille, so that anyone who was visually impaired could still review them.
Seeing our carefully thought out plans begin to take shape was incredible. Finally stepping into the finished space took my breath away, and I was so excited just thinking of how this could help so many of our colleagues thrive.
But don’t just take my word for it! Take a look at these four design details, and why they make such a difference.
We’re proud of how we've applied universal design principles in Google Korea, but we know this isn’t the end of the journey. In fact, I like to think that we’re just getting started. We’re constantly learning and seeking to understand the needs of all people — that’s how we can develop solutions that enable everyone to succeed.
Maria Running Fisher Jones first learned about balancing checking accounts and filing taxes at age 7 — thanks to her primary school teacher. Though finance didn’t end up being her calling in life, education has been a consistent theme throughout her career. She first studied education, even earning her master’s degree, but ended up finding a home in law.
Now as senior corporate counsel in Google Cloud, Maria also takes time to partner with Googlers and people in her community to raise awareness of issues that are impacting Indigenous communities in the United States, like the one she grew up in, and expand opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses. I chatted with Maria over Google Meet to hear her story and learn about how education has always been a cornerstone in her life.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was raised by a single mother on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Northwestern Montana, a community struggling with a 69% unemployment rate. The estimated poverty rate of Native Americans living on reservations is nearly double the national average and the highest in the country.
My family saw education as a way to lift ourselves and our community — a way to learn and gain access to connections to give back. My mother ingrained the value of education in me deeply: I vividly remember a time when she wouldn’t allow me to participate in a basketball game because my grades had slipped. Even worse, my mother made me tell my coach and teammates the reason I was to miss the game. It’s those life lessons that have brought me to where I am today.
The more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good.
How did you get into law?
I didn’t initially anticipate practicing law as a career. Entering college, I was set on a degree in education with a plan to teach high-school English, thanks to the influence of my primary school teachers.
While studying for my master’s in education, I became particularly interested in educational disparities, like why are some children afforded a better education and more resources than others? I began researching laws to educate myself and started to realize that a law degree could help me affect positive change. In some sense, I really fell into a law degree by virtue of following my passions and natural curiosity.
What shaped your interest in tech?
Technology, its importance and impact in the world, wasn’t something I spent much time thinking about while in Montana. Instead of video conferences and emails, I was picking up the phone to connect through a landline or showing up to have a cup of coffee.
But the more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good. I saw how this was the future and how it could connect my family and community to opportunities in a more equitable way. It’s why I participated in a Wi-Fi connectivity project with GAIN, Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous Employee Resource Group. It’s how I found the ability to connect my education degrees to tech law. At Google, I’ve been able to do both.
How do you connect your work at Google to the causes you care about?
Giving back and engaging in community is critical in my life. Leaving the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana is still something that pains me to this day. Leaving family has always been a challenge for me, but sharing my culture and raising awareness on issues facing Indigenous people has filled the void of missing home. Since joining Google, I’ve had the opportunity to provide awareness through various channels, including a Talks at Google interview with activist Kimberly Loring HeavyRunner and a Careers on Air virtual event celebrating Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous communities.
Native Forward, the U.S.’s largest scholarship program for Native students with more than 16,000 recipients from over 500 Tribes, provided the funding to support my law school education. Recently, I was part of a group of Googlers who reviewed its scholarship applications, and I donate monthly via our internal platform that allows for company matching.
In addition to the work I do at Google, I also started a company, TPMOCS, in 2014, specializing in handcrafting children’s moccasins. We employ Native American artisans in rural communities and give a portion of profits to organizations on reservations supporting children in need.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
During a trip back home to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, I spent time with family and elders, and had a traditional naming ceremony for my children. I also had time to reflect on my life choices. Some, if given the chance, I would do over, but one that I’ve never second guessed is joining Google. As I speak at events, I’d like Indigeous youth and young professionals to know that you too can pursue a career in tech and still remain true to yourself. Representation matters and working at Google provides me with a platform to highlight interests and issues close to my heart. Google welcomes our voices.
Maria Running Fisher Jones first learned about balancing checking accounts and filing taxes at age 7 — thanks to her primary school teacher. Though finance didn’t end up being her calling in life, education has been a consistent theme throughout her career. She first studied education, even earning her master’s degree, but ended up finding a home in law.
Now as senior corporate counsel in Google Cloud, Maria also takes time to partner with Googlers and people in her community to raise awareness of issues that are impacting Indigenous communities in the United States, like the one she grew up in, and expand opportunities for Indigenous-owned businesses. I chatted with Maria over Google Meet to hear her story and learn about how education has always been a cornerstone in her life.
Can you tell us a bit about yourself?
I was raised by a single mother on the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Northwestern Montana, a community struggling with a 69% unemployment rate. The estimated poverty rate of Native Americans living on reservations is nearly double the national average and the highest in the country.
My family saw education as a way to lift ourselves and our community — a way to learn and gain access to connections to give back. My mother ingrained the value of education in me deeply: I vividly remember a time when she wouldn’t allow me to participate in a basketball game because my grades had slipped. Even worse, my mother made me tell my coach and teammates the reason I was to miss the game. It’s those life lessons that have brought me to where I am today.
The more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good.
How did you get into law?
I didn’t initially anticipate practicing law as a career. Entering college, I was set on a degree in education with a plan to teach high-school English, thanks to the influence of my primary school teachers.
While studying for my master’s in education, I became particularly interested in educational disparities, like why are some children afforded a better education and more resources than others? I began researching laws to educate myself and started to realize that a law degree could help me affect positive change. In some sense, I really fell into a law degree by virtue of following my passions and natural curiosity.
What shaped your interest in tech?
Technology, its importance and impact in the world, wasn’t something I spent much time thinking about while in Montana. Instead of video conferences and emails, I was picking up the phone to connect through a landline or showing up to have a cup of coffee.
But the more I learned about the tech industry, the more I discovered how much it could be used for good. I saw how this was the future and how it could connect my family and community to opportunities in a more equitable way. It’s why I participated in a Wi-Fi connectivity project with GAIN, Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous Employee Resource Group. It’s how I found the ability to connect my education degrees to tech law. At Google, I’ve been able to do both.
How do you connect your work at Google to the causes you care about?
Giving back and engaging in community is critical in my life. Leaving the Blackfeet Indian Reservation in Montana is still something that pains me to this day. Leaving family has always been a challenge for me, but sharing my culture and raising awareness on issues facing Indigenous people has filled the void of missing home. Since joining Google, I’ve had the opportunity to provide awareness through various channels, including a Talks at Google interview with activist Kimberly Loring HeavyRunner and a Careers on Air virtual event celebrating Google’s Aboriginal and Indigenous communities.
Native Forward, the U.S.’s largest scholarship program for Native students with more than 16,000 recipients from over 500 Tribes, provided the funding to support my law school education. Recently, I was part of a group of Googlers who reviewed its scholarship applications, and I donate monthly via our internal platform that allows for company matching.
In addition to the work I do at Google, I also started a company, TPMOCS, in 2014, specializing in handcrafting children’s moccasins. We employ Native American artisans in rural communities and give a portion of profits to organizations on reservations supporting children in need.
Is there anything else you’d like to share?
During a trip back home to the Blackfeet Indian Reservation, I spent time with family and elders, and had a traditional naming ceremony for my children. I also had time to reflect on my life choices. Some, if given the chance, I would do over, but one that I’ve never second guessed is joining Google. As I speak at events, I’d like Indigeous youth and young professionals to know that you too can pursue a career in tech and still remain true to yourself. Representation matters and working at Google provides me with a platform to highlight interests and issues close to my heart. Google welcomes our voices.
Este Día de los Veteranos, queremos reconocer y mostrar las contribuciones realizadas por los veteranos en Google. Estos empleados de Google han creado oportunidades y formas para que la transición de los miembros de las fuerzas a sus carreras profesionales civiles sea sencilla. Lo han hecho a través del programa de becas SkillBridge del Departamento de Defensa (Department of Defense, DoD) para miembros de las fuerzas armadas en transición y otros recursos como los certificados profesionales desarrollados por Google y un subsidio de $10 millones de Google.org para contratar a nuestros héroes para su programa Career Forward.
Nos reunimos con exmiembros del Ejército de los EE. UU. y empleados de Google James Durago, Larraine Palesky y Michael St. Germain (MSG) para conocer cómo llevaron estos recursos a Google y cómo les están retribuyendo el gesto a otros veteranos, miembros de las fuerzas armadas e integrantes de la familia militar.
Larraine: SkillBridge brinda experiencia laboral en el ámbito civil a los miembros de las fuerzas armadas, a través de una beca corporativa durante sus últimos 180 días de servicio. Los becarios están integrados en las empresas y continúan recibiendo compensación y beneficios militares, mientras que los socios del sector proporcionan la capacitación, la experiencia laboral y las herramientas para asegurar un trabajo. Los empleadores ven de primera mano el enorme talento, las habilidades, las capacidades de toma de decisiones y la flexibilidad que los miembros de las fuerzas armadas aportan a sus negocios.
James: Larraine, MSG y yo nos reunimos en el partido de fútbol del Ejército contra la Marina que se llevó a cabo en 2019 y decidimos unirnos para llevar SkillBridge a Google. En aquel momento, era codirector del grupo de recursos para empleados veteranos de Google, VetNet. Nuestro objetivo era destacarnos de nuestros competidores y formalizar los beneficios de trabajar con la comunidad militar. Y queríamos asegurarnos de que Google fuera el empleador elegido por quienes estaban buscando trabajo y realizando la transición a partir de carreras militares.
MSG: Me involucré porque quería retribuir el gesto y crear un espacio y una oportunidad para que la comunidad de veteranos subrepresentada rompiera estereotipos y demostrara que pueden sobresalir en el ámbito de la tecnología, del mismo modo que prosperaron bajo presión en el vertiginoso entorno militar.
Larraine: Y pasé por SkillBridge yo misma cuando hice la transición y abandoné las fuerzas armadas. Es una gran oportunidad para que los veteranos aprendan habilidades tecnológicas y sean más competitivos, al mismo tiempo que solicitan empleos a tiempo completo. SkillBridge también proporciona a las personas las redes de contactos de las que carecen porque todo lo que saben gira en torno a las fuerzas armadas.
MSG: Las personas con antecedentes militares están subrepresentadas en las carreras profesionales relacionadas con la tecnología. La gente estereotipa a estas personas en trabajos de construcción y seguridad, y algunos veteranos no confían en que puedan tener éxito en el sector tecnológico. Pero la tecnología no es tan diferente de otros campos, y sabemos que los veteranos tienen habilidades transferibles y actitudes de consecución de tareas que les permiten prosperar en empresas como Google. Solo tienen que poner un pie en la puerta. Tener SkillBridge y otros programas en Google nos permite retribuir a la comunidad militar ayudando a romper las barreras para poder construir carreras profesionales exitosas en el sector tecnológico.
SkillBridge es solo una de las muchas iniciativas para veteranos y familias militares. Si está interesado en inscribirse en el programa SkillBridge de Google, primero debe solicitar el programa de becas corporativas a través de Hiring Our Heroes. Para obtener una lista completa de recursos, consulte nuestro sitio Grow with Googley el sitio de empleos de VetNetpara veteranos, miembros de las fuerzas armadas en transición y familias militares que incluyen Career Forward e información para empresas propiedad de veteranos. Si es miembro de la comunidad militar y busca apoyo para usted o un ser querido, puede encontrar recursos útiles en Serving Veterans.