Google tries its best to not be evil, to exist as a gentle giant in a land of cutthroat corporations. Sometimes it fails, but never for lack of trying. The company claims, for example, that it has gone to great lengths to convert its data centers to green technology. And Google has today decided to highlight where it stands on issues of diversity.
Yolanda Mangolini, Google’s director of global diversity and inclusion/talent and outreach programs, released Google’s 2011 Global Diversity & Talent Inclusion Report in a post on the Official Google Blog. The report catalogues all of Google’s efforts to hire a diverse workforce and help minorities throughout the world. From the blog post:
In the U.S., fewer and fewer students are graduating with computer science degrees each year, and enrollment rates are even lower for women and underrepresented groups. It’s important to grow a diverse talent pool and help develop the technologists of tomorrow who will be integral to the success of the technology industry.
According to the report, Google has helped 22 historically black colleges and universities (HBCUs) make the switch to Google Apps for Education. It has provided 3,000 scholarships to students in 77 different countries. The company also piloted a Top Black Talent program in the U.K., and partnered with the African Caribbean Society to offer 100 student workshops.
[email protected] hosts a Speakers Series in which successful women come to Google’s headquarters and share their stories. Last year, Google hosted several well-attended Women in Technology Workshops in the Middle East.
Google supports LGBT employees through an employee network called “Gayglers.” The company also participated in the “It Gets Better” project with a video in which “Gayglers” and their allies lend advice and support to the LGBT youth.
Another minority you might not think of is well-supported by Google. The company hosts internships for U.S. military veterans, and has provided the U.S. Department of Veterans Affairs with a customized job search engine for veterans.
Google has received a 100% score on the Human Rights Campaign’s Corporate Equality Index every year since 2006. You can read the entire report, which Google has made available in PDF format, and see for yourself the lengths to which Google is going to make its workforce incredibly diverse, in every way possible.
