Giugno, 2022

Growing up, mathematics was not one of Jade Lee’s favorite subjects. “I was absolutely terrible at it!” she says. “But when I got older, I recognized there are very few of us who are naturally good at mathematics.” With time and effort her skills improved, so much so that today she is pursuing her undergraduate degree in mathematics and economics at the London School of Economics. There, she also volunteers her time as a Women Techmakers Ambassador and Google Developer Student Club Lead.

While she enjoys math much more than when she was younger, Jade still believes that it is a “ruthless subject.” Since there is typically a right or wrong answer, it’s not uncommon to make mistakes or experience failure. And since Jade was often one of the only women in her classes, she was anxious about making these mistakes in front of her classmates, and felt she generally lacked the confidence of her male counterparts. “For me, there was always a doubtful feeling at the back of my head that I didn’t belong there or that I was only fooling myself to continue down this route,” she says.

But when she joined the Women Techmakers Ambassador program last year, two big things started to shift for her. First, she says, she was inspired by the “beautiful community of women around the world pursuing technology.” She saw the power of having women role models and a supportive community in a male-dominated industry, and quickly took the initiative to build this community herself — including hosting events that brought more than 500 female students together to become more involved in STEM and learn about technological careers across industries.

Through sharing experiences and challenges with other women in the field, she felt less alone. She also started to see that being one of the only women could also mean new opportunities: “You are breaking new ground, setting new expectations and changing the industry bit by bit for the better,” she says.

After becoming an Ambassador, she also started to develop a new relationship with failure. Bolstered by the support of her community, she started to feel her confidence grow, which helped her speak up more. And instead of being afraid to get something wrong, she recognized she was actually learning a lot more from her mistakes than her successes. “Those who grow and develop as STEM students are those who embrace those failures, learn from their mistakes and reflect on their experiences,” she says. “Failure gives us an opportunity to learn, be challenged and thrive.”

Jade is excited about her future, and wants to continue pushing towards gender equity in STEM. Her advice to other women looking to break into the industry: “Embrace the challenge, learn from the difficulties and be grateful for the experiences you’ve had.”

Subscribe to the Women Techmakers YouTube channelso you don’t miss out on future Ambassador Spotlight videos and more

COVID-19 has transformed the way we live, work and interact with each other. Over the course of the pandemic, finding timely, reliable and locally relevant information has been critically important, and people have often turned to Google first to make sense of the new environment. Ever since Search interest in coronavirus hit an all-time high in March 2020 worldwide, people’s searches have changed as we’ve moved into new phases of the pandemic.

As the pandemic evolves, so do people’s information needs. Our goal is to continue providing timely, fresh and actionable information as some people return to offices, explore travel around the world and navigate everyday life in the safest ways possible.

Supporting evolving testing needs

At-home testing is a helpful and convenient way to minimize community spread through awareness of COVID status. In the United States alone, search interest in “at home covid tests” increased by 170% in May 2022. So starting this month in the U.S., people can more easily find at-home COVID test kits on Google Search. With a quick Search, you can quickly see at-home testing kits available in stores, and nearby testing information provided by local health authorities.

Empowering travelers

When you search on Google for travel information, you can see if there’s an advisory or any entry restrictions at your destination, including testing, quarantine or immunization requirements. Last spring, we introduced a new option to turn on tracking for these advisories right from the Search results page. You receive an email if the travel requirements change for your selected destination if you’re logged into your Google account. For the United States, you can also view and track travel advisories at the state level.

Continuing to support vaccination efforts

With a quick Google Search, you can already find timely information on vaccinations, including boosters, specific vaccine types and appointment availability. This information also includes support for pediatric vaccinations as kids head to summer camp and participate in other seasonal activities. In the U.S, when parents search for “covid vaccine for kids” they can quickly find healthcare providers that offer COVID pediatric vaccinations.

Amplifying authoritative information

Collaborating with trusted partners, including the World Health Organization (WHO) and the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC), has been critical to getting people the information they need at the right time. We’ve also helped amplify important messages from public health authorities by donating Google Search advertising and related expert assistance. Through this initiative, the WHO has provided more than two billion COVID-related public service announcements, connecting nearly 250 million people to high-quality COVID-19 Information. We recently pledged an additional $150 million in donated Search ads — bringing our total in-kind commitment to more than $1 billion with the overarching goal of connecting people to authoritative information related to COVID-19 and related topics as they search on Google.

To make sure people can easily find the information they need about COVID, we’ve built and grown a number of features that further our goal of making healthcare information more accessible to everyone. As the world continues to navigate COVID, Google remains committed to helping reduce friction in accessing health information and care for all.

Publishers create the blogs, news, games, tools and videos we all enjoy. But we don’t always get to see the work that goes into building the content on the internet we know and love today. In 2021, the commercial internet helped generate 17 million jobs for Americans — and we’re celebrating just a few of those who were a part of that success.

After sitting down with these publishers, we’ve learned how they use digital ad revenue to grow their businesses, create free and accessible content, impact their communities and most of all, how their passion for their work fuels them to keep serving their audiences.

Check out their stories on Google for Publishers and hear from small and large publishers — in their own words.