A majority of people's lives are spent in the workplace, be it in person or remote. Prior to the pandemic, people already struggled to acknowledge or talk about their achievements, and Covid-19 has brought with it even more challenges; many of which disproportionately affect women. In its ‘I am Remarkable’ campaign, Google aims to empower women and other under-represented groups, acknowledging that cultural and gender modesty norms, as well as impostor syndrome, can prevent people from recognising their remarkable attributes and expressing their achievements.

The 8th of September marks the first day of Google’s #IamRemarkable Week, a digital experience celebrating the power of diversity, inclusion and allyship. Through a series of virtual talks, online workshops and confidence-boosting challenges, Google aims to improve the self-promotion, motivation and skills of women and under-represented groups whilst challenging the social perception around self-promotion.

In a short video embedded on the #IamRemarkable platform, Google calls upon women to complete the statement “I am remarkable because…”. At first, we see participants struggle with finding an answer, commenting that the exercise is “really hard” and when asked to read out their answers the women are reluctant. Yet, as each reads out their response and acknowledges their own self-worth, they appear to grow in confidence. Whilst the exercise makes some of the respondents feel emotional, each one has a powerful and meaningful answer to the statement. As the video ends, the viewer is asked to consider their own answer to the statement, highlighting the importance of recognising self-achievement and reminding us that it’s very rare to do so in everyday life. 

Currently, Google is calling for participants, facilitators and companies from all around the globe to take part in #IamRemarkable. As of May 2021, the initiative has 230,000 participants and 19,000 workshops across over 150 different countries. It's possible for people to sign up to online workshops and join the #IamRemarkable community via Google’s online platform or get involved via social media using the campaign’s hashtag. 

With 82% of those who attended a workshop claiming to feel more confident after the session, the #IamRemarkable campaign offers participants a time to self-reflect and build upon their skills. In a time where the lines between people’s home and work lives are more blurred than ever, taking the time to focus on self-worth and build up confidence is crucial to happiness.