I’ve always believed that building a world where everyone shares a sense of belonging means making sure that each person has what they need to thrive. This year we continued our years-long work to put this belief into action, building bridges to greater connection, opportunity, access and knowledge – so that everyone is able to reach their full potential. Our work to make sure we can all do and become our best is far from over. And as we look back on 2023, I want to share three ways we’ve moved this work forward to support our employees at Google and people around the world this year:

1. By creating pathways to educational and economic opportunity in society

We worked with a number of partners this year to connect more people to the educational experiences and developmental opportunities that can help them build their skills, businesses and creativity. In partnership with the American Indian Science and Engineering Society, we launched the Immersive Research Experience, a program designed to expand awareness and access to Computer Science research for Native and Indigenous students. And through Grow with Google support, we helped Technolochicas extend its impact from Mexico to the U.S. — enabling 1,000 more young Latinas to develop the skills and experiences to pursue a career in STEM.

Our work also fueled economic opportunity. Launched this year, the Google for Startups Women Founders Fund is helping woman entrepreneurs in Asia Pacific who are using AI grow their businesses in India, Japan and Korea, which are addressing critical issues ranging from mental health to housing insecurity.

2. By strengthening on-ramps to a more representative and connected Google

Across our workplace, we built new tools and hit exciting milestones as we continue our efforts to create a Google where everyone feels supported in unlocking their best work. Building a workforce that is representative of our diverse world is an important piece.

Our Diversity Annual Report this year showed we achieved our racial equity commitment goal of increasing leadership representation of Black, Latino and Native American Googlers by 30%, three years ahead of our 2025 aim. We also attained our highest-ever representation of women in tech, non-tech and leadership roles globally.

And our onboarding program for Black Googlers, The Collective — also part of our racial equity commitments — reached more than 1,800 total participants across the U.S., Australia, Brazil, Canada, Ireland, Singapore, South Africa, and the U.K., with 97% finding the experience worth their time.

We showed up to support Googlers in the most difficult moments, too. As people in Israel, Gaza and around the world continue to be deeply affected by the terrorist attack and ensuing war, we took efforts to support our employees, as well as provide relief and critical resources as the crisis develops.

3. By enhancing access, helpfulness and representation in our products

We continued to develop products and support research that showcases technology’s immense potential for connecting more people to the information and experiences that help them do more — and in ways that resonate with who they are.

In partnership with the National Congress of American Indians and our Google Aboriginal and Indigenous Network (GAIN) employee resource group, we made it easier to find Indigenous-owned businesses on Search and Maps through the new Indigenous-owned attribute. This is a continuation of our efforts to help businesses grow through technology and build products that reflects the diversity of our users, joining the available Asian-owned, Black-owned, disabled-owned, Latino-owned, LGBTQ+ owned, veteran-owned and women-owned business attributes.

In Maps, we’ll now show our Accessible Places feature without needing to opt-in, identifying when a place has an entrance without steps — information that can make a big difference for more confidently exploring the world around us, whether we’re using a wheelchair or pushing a stroller.

And through Project Elevate Black Voices, a first-of-its-kind partnership with Howard University launched this year, we’re helping build more responsive speech technology and product experiences for Black communities.

We’re excited to continue learning, creating and partnering in 2024 to deepen our work, helping people feel more connected and better supported in discovering their full potential and unlocking new possibilities that strengthen our shared world.