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Google doodles little diversity

Since 2010, Google Doodles have celebrated the lives and accomplishments of men, nearly leaving out women of color altogether.

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This week's news about Google's whimsical doodles could come as a surprise—just 4 percent of Google Doodles celebrate women of color. What's more, no Asian, Latina or indigenous women have ever been featured in a Global Doodle, which are published about two dozen times a year worldwide. Last year was the first year that a black woman was celebrated in a Global Doodle.

The Google search bar that celebrates birthdays, anniversaries and events rarely focuses on women or people of color. Four our of five doodles featured men (three out of five featured white men) while just 16 percent show successful women—and 75 percent of female doodles featured white women, at least that was the case from 2010 to 2013, according to girls' advocacy group, SPARK Movement. The group has begun to compile a list of women who could be recognized by Google via doodle. 

 

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"We need to talk about why the numbers have been skewed for so long, and what it says about how we view history," Celeste Montaño wrote for SPARK movement. "Just like statues, stamps, and national holidays, you know that if someone is featured on Google's homepage, they've done something important." 

The website "Speaking Up" has also chronicled the Google doodle gender bias since 2008, ten years after the first Google Doodle was produced. According to the website's founder, from 2008 to 2012, just 9 percent of Doodles in the United States featured women. The bulk of doodles featuring women, particularly women of color, were published in 2013. 

The doodle debacle isn't the first time Google has come under fire for its lack of diversity. The tech world of Silicon Valley has been criticized for its male-dominated workforce where black and Latino employees are underrepresented.

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