Articoli

Everyone needs something different from their phone plan. Some people love the freedom of a plan that works seamlessly at home and abroad. Others just need the essentials: unlimited data, talk and text on a fast network with great coverage. So today, as Google Fi celebrates its sixth birthday, we’re introducing a new phone plan: Simply Unlimited.

For the person who wants unlimited data with just the essentials

Simply Unlimited is our most affordable plan for unlimited data, calls and texts. You pay a consistent price each month, with rates starting at $30 per month per line for three or more lines. That price includes unlimited calls and texts in the U.S., plus unlimited data and texting in the U.S., Canada and Mexico. Simply Unlimited is also a great choice if you’re looking for a plan for a group or family — you can get three lines for the same total price as two. As with all our plans, you always get privacy and security features that help protect your personal information, and family features that help your family stay safer on their phones and build healthy digital habits.

Rebecca Moore lives in the Santa Cruz Mountains, a series of peaks in Northern California where the ocean and redwoods collide. Living there, amongst the trees, she turned to mapping as a way to protect the planet.

When a logging project was proposed in her community, she used Google Earth to show everyone how the plans would affect their daily lives and, more importantly, endanger the precious ecosystem surrounding them.  The logging plan was denied and that redwood forest is now being considered for permanent protection as public open space.

“In a way, technology and digital mapping can give nature a voice — it puts it on the map and helps it defend itself,” Rebecca says. “Seeing facts on a map quickly squashes debate and dispels misconceptions.”

For the past 15 years, Rebecca has led the Google Earth, Earth Engine and Outreach team. Their goal is to create a digital replica of the planet and put it into hands everywhere. They’ve mapped everything from endangered animal populations and fisheries to CO2 emissions and wildfires. We talked with Rebecca about why she thinks maps are so powerful and how she finds it in herself to tackle hard problems, like climate change. 

What does your team at Google do? 

Our goal is to organize all of the planet’s information and make it accessible, understandable and actionable. For example, Google Earth Engine helps us take the flood of environmental information from things like satellite imagery and weather data, and turn it into something that anyone can understand and take action on. And our Google Earth Outreach program helps nonprofits, communities and indigenous peoples around the world use our mapping tools to solve whatever problems they’re tackling. 

What makes maps so powerful when it comes to protecting the planet? 

The world is changing, but it’s hard to visualize it. If we can create a dynamic, digital replica of the real world and extract meaningful insights from it, then we can put it into the hands of people who can help protect and conserve the planet for generations to come. 

For example, we’ve seen how putting this information into the hands of indigenous communities can help protect land that’s under threat. We worked with the Suruí, a tribe in the Amazon, to use Google Earth‘s mapping tools to stop illegal logging in their region. 

Now, with Timelapse in Google Earth, anybody can fly over any region in the world and see decades of planetary change. When you see these changes with your own eyes, there’s what I call the digital overview effect — you become more emotional and more engaged. 

How do you identify areas where Google can have the biggest impact?

I look for the hard problems that Google can make a dent in. Climate change is at the top of that list. It’s an existential threat, and we’re all experiencing the effects of rising temperatures: from droughts to wildfires to islands disappearing. There’s a sense of urgency that we have to act now. 

Then I look for patterns. I’ve read voraciously over the past few years to understand what the world’s best thinkers have identified as potential pathways to solving climate change. I look at how Google can uniquely contribute to those solutions. 

When taking on big challenges, how do you stay motivated? 

I was a rock climber and mountaineer for years — I even climbed in the Himalayas. When you climb a mountain, you don’t actually see the summit from where you start. But you know if you head in a positive direction, eventually you’ll see it, and get there. And along the way, the little breakthroughs will motivate you. Same goes for making meaningful change to protect the planet. 

Sometimes the best thing is to make a choice, commit and go forward. Stay attentive and mindful to what’s happening along the way, and be prepared to make mid-course corrections. And stay patient, taking on big challenges — whether it’s climbing or climate change — is hard work and it takes time. Even when the summit (or your goal) feels far away, don’t forget to turn around and look back to appreciate how far you have come. That can be super-motivating, and applies to my work today.

You didn’t always work at the intersection of environment and technology. What put you on this path? 

I studied computer science, and after school I just wanted a job that was intellectually challenging. It didn’t matter so much what it was for and what I worked on. That changed after my father, who was an attorney and argued a landmark civil rights case, and my brother, who was an artist and an activist, died within five months of each other. It hit me that we don’t live forever. It seems cliche, but I didn’t want to look back and think I frittered away with stuff that didn’t matter.  

I needed that sense of urgency to stop what I was doing, leave my job and reinvent myself. I didn’t know what my next move was, and it took me three years to figure it out, but I was determined to find a way to bring my own talents to bear and work on things I cared about. I started small, helping protect the nature that surrounds my community in the Santa Cruz Mountains, and went from there.

“I took a zigzag approach to life and my career, climbing corporate ladders, swerving through the obstacle course of entrepreneurship and landing in Silicon Valley,” Bonita Stewart says of the path her work took her in. Along the way, she was often the only or the first woman or woman of color, or both. 

Bonita was also the first Black woman to be a vice president at Google, where she’s VP of Global Partnerships. In 2018, she teamed up with another Black woman who experienced “being the first:” her fellow Harvard Business School alumna and former CBS news White House correspondent Jacqueline (Jackie) Adams, who was the first Black woman CBS assigned full-time to cover the White House. Together, they co-authored the book “A Blessing: Women of Color Teaming Up to Lead, Empower and Thrive.” 

As part of their writing process, they surveyed 2,300 Black, Latinx, Asian and white women across generations. “Research on the impact of women of color in business remains limited, which is why Jackie and I wanted to expand on our first study and look into more topics,” Bonita says. The 2020 Women of Color in Business: Cross-Generational Survey© (launched in partnership with the Executive Leadership Council) surveyed participants during the ongoing health and economic pandemics and racial justice protests. And unlike the 2019 report, the 2020 Survey also sought answers from 150 white male managers.

To learn a little more about Bonita and her research, I took some time to ask about her career path and to dive a little deeper into the survey’s findings. 

You focus on “generational diversity” in this year’s study. What does this mean and why is it important?

“Generational diversity” is a term that Jackie and I coined to highlight the nuances being overlooked in today’s Diversity, Equity and Inclusion conversations, specifically, representation across generations.

The most important investment a company makes are the people it employs. Right now we’re in what we describe as “a new era of leadership,” where younger generations are demanding more authentic, empathetic leadership. 

Our survey found that Gen Z and Millennial workers, especially those who are Black and Latinx, are supremely confident they will control their careers. They’re mission-driven, wildly creative and tech-savvy. They expect their leaders to create a workplace of belonging for everyone. It’s equally important that leaders have a better appreciation for diverse — and very valuable — generational perspectives.

Don’t forget: The Census predicts these young people of color, currently between 18-29, will be the majority of Americans in the workforce by 2027.   

What findings surprised you?

One of the most eye-opening stats was around what we call “side-preneurship” or the “side hustle:” 29% of Black women have a business they run or are developing in their free time, compared to 15% of Latinx women, 11% of Asian women and 10% of white women. That means Black women are nearly three times as likely to have a side hustle. 

And while it wasn’t exactly surprising, it was validating to see some findings regarding women managers. Specifically, of the women managers surveyed, only 44% of Black managers, 36% of Latinx managers, 37% of Asian women managers and 35% of white women managers received stretch assignments — an opportunity to develop skills outside of their day-to-day role — over the last 12 months versus 62% for white male managers. We also found honest feedback is helpful to thriving on the job. Only 51% of Latinx women managers, 48% Black women managers, 39% of white women managers and 37% of Asian women managers reported receiving helpful feedback — 75% of white male managers said they did, though.

There were also some surprising results when we asked about mentoring: Women were more willing to help anyone, regardless of race or gender, versus the men. We saw that anywhere from 56% to 65% of women reported this, compared to just 34% of men.

What can senior leadership and hiring managers learn from this report?

We believe great managers matter. If they want exceptional talent, leaders and managers must boost their capability, hire underrepresented minorities in multiples, provide honest feedback, offer stretch assignments and create an inclusive environment for all employees across all generations.

What advice do you have for women of color in business?

Specifically, I strongly encourage you to take on a stretch assignment as a way to grow your capabilities and progress in your career. It’s a great opportunity to differentiate yourself and achieve what others might think is impossible, unexpected or unlikely. Our data found that a large majority of women across all races said they hadn’t received a stretch assignment over the past year — though it was encouraging to see that 37% of Black and Latinx Millennials reported they had. Please take it upon yourself to pursue one!

And to all women of color, I say while we need to “lean in,” we will do best if we team up. Surround yourself with those who believe in the diversity of thought, race, gender and generations. There are so many new, disruptive technologies opening unexpected fields — challenge yourself to explore and find both your passion and your purpose.