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Since Google began releasing its diversity report in 2014, the percentage of women at the company has barely budged, going from from 30% back then to 30.9% in 2018.
Perhaps a more hopeful statistic has been the increase in female leadership over the years, which has risen from 20.8% in 2014 to 25.5% in 2018.
Today, women at Google are starting to lead some of the largest and strategically most important teams within the company.
Below is Business Insider's list of 15 of the most powerful women at Google.
Getting more women into tech jobs has been a focus for many Silicon Valley companies, and rightfully so. Based on diversity reports released by large tech companies, women are far outnumbered by their male counterparts.
Google, in particular, has struggled. In 2018, the search giant employed just 30.9% women, compared to 32% at Apple and 36% at Facebook. What's more, the ratio of women at Google has barely budged since the company began releasing its diversity report in 2014, when it stood at 30%.
In its most recent report, Google said there were "modest but hopeful signs of success in hiring" when it came to "reaching greater workforce representation of women globally."
Perhaps a more encouraging statistic is Google's ratio of women in leadership over the years, which has risen from 20.8% in 2014 to 25.5% in 2018. Beyond simply reaching managerial status, women at Google today lead some of the largest and strategically important teams.
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Some, like YouTube's chief exec and Google's chief financial officer, are well known throughout the business world. Others, who oversee products or businesses of growing importance, are lesser known outside the Googleplex campus.
Here is Business Insider's list of the top 15 most powerful women at Google:
Ivy Ross — VP of Design, UX, and Research for Hardware
When Ivy Ross joined Google in 2014, she was tasked with leading the company's futuristic wearable project known as Google Glass.
With a background in jewelry design, as well as experience in the fashion and retail industries, Ross brought a unique perspective to the team.
"She is trained to be sensitive to getting technology out of the way, using technology, rather than thinking technology is a natural benefit in and of itself,” Astro Teller, head of Google's moonshot factory X, which housed the Glass project, said of Ross in 2015.
In 2016, Ross was assigned to head design efforts for all of Google's hardware products. Under her leadership, the company's family of "Made by Google" products has grown to include the Pixel smartphone, Pixel Slate, Google Home, Google Wifi, and more.
She currently holds a board seat with Deckers and the online education company, Pluralsight.
Jen Fitzpatrick — SVP, Geo/Google Maps
Jen Fitzpatrick joined Google in 1999 as a member of its first intern program and eventually became one of the company’s first female engineers.
“My parents thought I was crazy taking a job at this tiny little startup that no one had ever heard of,” Fitzpatrick said in a 2018 interview.
During her 20 years at Google (which is nearly as long as the company has been incorporated), Fitzpatrick has led software development teams across multiple products including Search, AdWords, News, and Shopping.
In 2014, she became Google’s VP for Geo, which means she leads the Google Maps and Local teams. Those services are used by more than one billion people users today.
Sissie Hsiao — VP of Product, Mobile App Advertising
Sissie Hsiao leads ads products for mobile apps, known as Google AdMob.
In a corporate blog post last May, Hsiao said her job is to "help app developers build successful businesses."
Hsiao said she does so by "enabling developers to find great users by advertising their apps" and by "building healthy and sustainable app businesses by enabling developers to monetize their apps through advertising."
She's a self-proclaimed gamer herself, who's favorite gaming app is Mobile Legends.
Kristie Canegallo — VP, Trust and Safety
Kristie Canegallo recently joined Google in 2018 as Vice President of Trust and Safety, leading a global team that works, in part, to enforce product policies and protect users against abuse.
Previously, Canegallo was on the National Security Council staff during the Bush and Obama Administrations and served as President Obama’s deputy chief of staff from 2014 to 2017.
One project in particular that's gaining significant buzz within AR/VR circles is Google Lens, which Chennapragada and team are working to turn the camera on smartphones into a way for users to search for information and receive assistance.
As the real-world adoption of AR/VR products grows, it is likely Chennapragada's role will increase as well.
Lilian Rincon — Director of Product Management, Google Assistant
Before Google, Rincon worked at Skype where she was "responsible for driving the vision and plan for Skype's core AI assets," according to her LinkedIn profile.
Corrales currently serves on the board of the company's women's group, Women@Google, and has a board of directors seat with the Bay Area’s largest women leadership organization, Watermark.
In 2018, Corrales was named by Fortune as one of the 50 most powerful Latinas in business.
Eileen Naughton — VP of People Ops, Google
Eileen Naughton was named Google’s Vice President of People Operations in September 2016, overseeing all aspects of human resources at the company. Those responsibilities include everything from staffing and compensation to diversity and inclusion efforts.
Previously, Naughton was the Managing Director for Google UK & Ireland, leading business operations in the company's second-largest market.
Naughton joined Google in 2006 and was an original member of Women@Google, along with former Googler and current Facebook COO, Sheryl Sandberg.
Parisa Tabriz — Director of Engineering, Google Chrome and Chrome OS
Parisa Tabriz leads the engineering team responsible for making Chrome — the world's most used Internet browser — "secure, stable, and useful."
She also leads Google's Project Zero team, which is tasked with making sure Day Zero vulnerabilities — security vulnerabilities that are unknown until they cause havoc — don't happen.
Tabriz has been called Google's "top secret weapon" when it comes to security, and the title on her business cards reads "Security Princess."
She joined Google in 2007, and by 2015, she was leading a team of 30 "hired hackers."
Tabriz has been outspoken about the gender gap in tech, as one of the few women in the information security field.
"Just the fact that people are talking about it is a good sign," Tabriz told Wired in a 2014 interview. "Some people don't want to hear about bad things because they're scary, but ignorance is dangerous."
Danielle Brown — VP, Employee Engagement and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer
Danielle Brown joined Google as Vice President of Employee Engagement and Chief Diversity and Inclusion Officer in 2017.
Brown's team, in part, is responsible for the company's annual diversity report, which it began releasing in 2014. “It helps us really highlight where we are and aren’t making progress and ensuring that we don’t leave anyone behind,” Brown said in a 2018 interview.
Prior to Google, Brown was Vice President and Group Chief Human Resources Officer at Intel.
Lorraine Twohill — SVP and Chief Marketing Officer
When Lorraine Twohill joined Google in 2003, she became the company's first marketing hire outside the US, tasked with leading marketing efforts in Europe, the Middle East, and Africa.
By 2014, Twohill was named Google’s SVP of global marketing, helping launch the company’s first smartphone and first TV ad — which aired during Super Bowl XLIV. Soon after she helped form Google’s in-house marketing agency, known as Creative Lab.
In 2018, Twohill became only the second woman in 25 years to receive the Creative Marketer of the Year award at the Cannes Lions Festival of Creativity.
Today as CMO, Twohill is responsible for the marketing of Google's core products (like Search and Maps), its platforms (like Android and YouTube), and its hardware (like the Pixel 3 and Google Home Hub).
Google Walkout Organizers — Claire Stapleton, Tanuja Gupta, Meredith Whittaker, Celie O’Neil-Hart, Stephanie Parker, Erica Anderson, and more
On November 1, 2018, tens of thousands of Google employees around the world walked out of their offices in protest of company policy, specifically its handling of internal sexual harassment cases.
In 1999, she became Google's 16th employee and its first marketing manager.
Since then, Wojcicki has been instrumental in key initiatives at the company, like helping create AdSense — one of Google's major advertising products — and pushing to acquire the video-sharing startup, YouTube back in 2006.
Ruth Porat — SVP and Chief Financial Officer, Alphabet and Google
Ruth Porat became Google's CFO in May 2015. When Alphabet came into existence in October 2015, Porat assumed the role of its CFO as well.
Before joining the Silicon Valley tech giant, Porat was the CFO of Morgan Stanley and considered by some as the “the most powerful woman on Wall Street.”
