One of my favorite aspects of working onsite at Google (from 2019-2022) was the emphasis on fostering diversity, inclusivity, and belonging. Inspired by this culture, I collaborated with my direct manager and several colleagues to launch a team-wide DEI initiative within the MGE team. Our mission was to educate our peers on critical DEI topics, such as unconscious bias, microaggressions, and discrimination, while fostering a safe environment for open discussions and empowerment in the workplace and beyond.

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To bring our vision to life, we held bi-weekly committee meetings to develop and organize our program. We created a mission statement, outlined goals, and assigned tasks to ensure smooth execution. For example, one team member built a dedicated DEI website for resources, while another designed consistent slide deck templates. My role involved curating articles and videos on key topics and crafting talking points for meaningful discussions.

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Our first session focused on microaggressions, defined as “everyday slights, insults, putdowns, invalidations, and offensive behaviors” (Sue et al., 2007, via NPR). To maximize engagement, we introduced the program during a team-wide All Hands meeting and ensured representation from all campus teams. Each session began with music and icebreakers, followed by a clear agenda, and transitioned into breakout rooms for honest, impactful conversations led by committee members.

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These sessions made a lasting impact by increasing awareness, encouraging inclusive behaviors, and empowering participants to address and mitigate discrimination both at work and in their personal lives. Leading this initiative was an incredibly rewarding experience and reinforced my commitment to fostering equity and belonging in every professional environment.

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Fast-forward to the United States of 2025, we live in a political climate that frowns upon righting the racist wrongs of the past. I had debated even removing my involvement in creating an atmosphere that properly educates those around me about the very real ways that those who are not straight, white men are bullied, harassed, and barred from opportunities in the workplace (let alone outside of it). But no. It is far more important to stand for what is right then to sit back in cowardice. Why would I want to give my skillset to an organization that brazenly sits on the wrong side of history, anyhow? Because, today, it sounds like a certain group of people are angry because they cannot get hired simply because they are a straight white man who knows the art of bullshit. NOTE: bullshitting is literally a skill.. Google it! That is, unless Google has decided to quietly erase all mention of this idea alongside Black History & Women's History month. But since Columbus Day made the calendar cut- perhaps "The Art of Bullshitting" also falls under the umbrella of "Re-Writing History to Serve Fascist Tendencies..." No?

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Anyway- 

I experienced sexism since my first memory, and it affected me deeply. I excelled in school from an early age (enrolled in the "gifted" education programs), but because I was a female child growing up in the early 2000s in St. Louis County, Missouri, I was bullied relentlessly. I was told that "girls can't be smart," "girls need to focus on their looks and babies," "you don't know, you're a girl" and constantly called weird, a freak, a nerd. You get the picture.  Due to this bullying, in high school I ended up slowly removing myself from my focus on education and dropped higher-level courses - going from being the only girl in my elementary school's math competition and taking pre-calculus at 14 to not taking a single math class my senior year and taking only 1 AP course (I already had earned all math credits needed - but taking higher level class meant I would be the ever-berated "nerd" once again). 

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Now, this is simply my experience with discrimination against my gender - I am straight and white. The racism, homophobia, and transphobia I witnessed growing up in St. Louis was absolutely prolific (and still is!). For example, as a young server, older white folks repeatedly felt comfortable saying things like, "what idiot hired all the 'Mexicans' in the kitchen?" "You can't be comfortable working with him (gestures towards black male)!" And you can guess which day of the week most of these comments came on and what type of necklace these early-morning birds were always flaunting. Nothing says "holier than thou" quite like tipping your server with a religious pamphlet instead of cash along with a side comment of bigotry. 

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So, while folks with red dye 40 seeping from their imported hats into their blood-brain barrier spew "Make America great again!! Like when my grandma was legally chained to my grandpa by a fault-based divorce system and an inability to open her own bank account!!" ... I will be here, waiting to work with those with a fully functioning moral compass and the desire to do what is right, not what is laced ignorance. I hope you join me.​