#GoodRead | Google Doodles, Gender Bias, and What's Being Done About It
There has been a lot of noise recently about Google's lack of female representation in its doodles. Here is a great roundup of posts explaining why this matters and what's being done about:
- A girls advocacy group called SPARK Movement released a report documenting the gender ratio represented over four years of Google doodles.
- Jane Spencer showcased the 83% male history of Google Doodles in "Google's Doodles: Oodles of Men" on WSJ.
- Jessie Daniels discussed not only the sexism behind the gender ratio of Google Doodles but also the obvious and shameful racism in "Harriet Tubman: Why Google Doodles Matter" on Racism Review.
- There is a Change.org petition asking for Google Doodle representation of women and people of color, because "Google Doodles have become iconic and universal, and we believe that they should reflect the diversity of the world Google serves".
Women and people of color make up more than 17% and 9% of the population, respectively, and it's a disservice not to represent us. Ryan Germick, Google's Doodle Team Lead, has said via email that he hopes Google will be representing people more equally in its doodles over the coming year, and we're hoping to see that happen, too. In fact, it would be better if they actually ensured better representation than just hoping it will come about.
Come on, Google! Many of us use your services every day. It would behoove you to behave like you actually see us.
Thank to Avengers Peter Glantz and Suebob for bringing this to our attention!