Google Doodle celebrates International Women’s Day

Google is celebrating International Women’s Day today (March 8) by dedicating its home screen ‘Doodles’ to how females support each other.

The vignettes within each letter of the search engine’s name gives an example of when women have advocated for rights and progress.

A statement said the doodle was also to celebrate “women who come together to explore, learn, and rally for their rights,” as well as “women who are primary caregivers to people of all walks of life”, and “women who are critical support systems for each other in motherhood.”

The doodles are being shown on Google homepage screens in almost every country in the world.

“In honor (sic) of women across the globe who are supporting each other across all aspects of life — Happy International Women’s Day,” the statement added.

The artist of the doodles was Alyssa Winans, an illustrator and game artist who has provided Google Doodles before.

She said: “Our theme this year was women supporting women, so I was able to spend a lot of time reflecting on all the ways I’ve been supported by the other women in my life.

“I’m the youngest of three girls, so since birth, I’ve always benefited from the wisdom and support of those who came before me! I’m grateful for that and all the ways I see women in my life standing up for each other and their values.”

Winans said the inspiration had only “tangentially” come from her own experiences and was also drawn from seeing what her friends and family were living through.

She added: “I know the full experience of what it means to be a woman certainly can’t all be captured in one image, so I hope it’s merely a jumping-off point to reflect on how broad, complex, nuanced, and powerful the notion of womanhood is.”