Our very first employee resource group at Google was called the Gayglers, meant to represent LGBTQ+ employees at the company. Over the years, as Google and the ERG grew, it became clear that this name was not representative or inclusive of the whole LGBTQ+ community. In 2021, the group initiated a process to address that issue, renaming itself PRIDE at Google. This effort demonstrates how the work of inclusion is an ongoing, collective process.

Today our PRIDE at Google ERG is active in every region across the world, working to build community at Google and support local organisations and LGBTQ+ issues out in the world. Pride at Google actively attracts, recruits, and helps to retain top LGBTQ+ talent to Google, and to ensure that Google stays a top choice as an employer for members of the community.

In 2013, Google co-founded the Hungarian nonprofit WeAreOpen to promote diversity, equity, and inclusion in the workplace, with a special focus on LGBTQ+ inclusion. Over the past decade, WeAreOpen has grown from a volunteer project into Hungary’s largest organisation focused on diversity, equity, and inclusion, helping hundreds of corporate clients build open cultures at work. As of 2023, more than 1,100 companies and organisations have signed the WeAreOpen manifesto.

We heard from the transgender community that resurfacing certain photos can be painful, so we’ve been working with our partners at GLAAD and listening to feedback to make reminiscing more inclusive. We’re using AI to power new features that resurface meaningful moments, while giving you control over what you revisit. Google Photos already includes controls to prevent resurfacing photos of certain people or time periods, and we’re continuing to add new ones to improve the experience through this continued partnership.

When used and developed responsibly, artificial intelligence has the power to help protect vulnerable people – including members of LGBTQ+ communities around the world – from online hate. As part of its mission to build products to help people stay safer online, Jigsaw created Perspective, an API that uses machine learning to identify abusive comments so online publishers like The New York Times, Le Monde, and el Pais can better moderate content. Jigsaw also built Harassment Manager, which allows users to document and manage abuse targeted at them on social media. These open-source tools help platforms and individuals reduce toxicity and abusive behaviour, enabling healthy conversations.

Support for Pride and the LGBTQ community varies a lot across the world. While we have been proud and consistent supporters and sponsors for Pride events across North America and Western Europe, we also have a long history of partnering with local LGBTQ+ communities to celebrate, educate, and innovate together in regions where we can have the greatest impact. Here are some recent highlights:

• We worked with Open for Business, a coalition of leading global companies dedicated to LGBTQ+ inclusion, to create a 2021 report on LGBTQ+ inclusion in Central and Eastern Europe.

• In 2022, Googlers participated for the first time in Baltic Pride, organised by Lithuanian Gay League (a Google.org grantee) in Vilnius. We showcased a Google Arts & Culture piece about Harvey Milk, an LGBTQ+ rights pioneer who was of Lithuanian descent.

• To mark the 20th anniversary of Taiwan LGBT+ Pride, East Asia’s biggest Pride celebration, in 2022, we organised a live-stream to increase global participation, launched an educational webpage, and encouraged merchants to use our LGBTQ-friendly attribute on Maps.

• In 2023 Google Australia celebrated and supported Sydney WorldPride, which was the first WorldPride ever in the Southern Hemisphere, and built on Google’s long-standing partnership with the Sydney Gay and Lesbian Mardi Gras.

During the height of the COVID-19 pandemic, many people in LGBTQ+ communities around the world lost access to the communities, spaces, and gathering places that helped them thrive. In celebration of the resilience and importance of these inclusive spaces, we launched a dedicated interactive experience in 2021 that pays tribute to spaces that continue to represent belonging, strength, and joy for LGBTQ+ communities, like the Magic City Acceptance Center in Alabama and the GALA Queer Archive in Johannesburg.