In honour of the International Women’s Day 2019, Google has dedicated today’s Doodle to inspirational quotes from notable women in support of the “Women empowering women” theme.
In case you’re wondering if this is a big deal. It is because Doodle is a temporary alteration of Google’s logo on its homepage in honour of special holidays and commemorations.
For this year International Women’s Day celebration, Google opted to celebrate 13 powerful quotes from women. These quotes were then designed by selected artists and presented as a slideshow on Google’s website. Google notes that the process of choosing the selected quotes was “extremely difficult.”
“The process of choosing the thirteen quotes was extremely difficult, but we aimed to include a diverse representation of voices on a day which celebrates the past, present, and future community of diverse women around the world, Google says.
Call it reflected glory but we are extremely proud that Nigerian’s trailblazer author Chimamanda Adichie made the cut for her quote:
‘I matter. I matter equally. Not “if only.” Not “as long as.” I matter equally. Full stop.’
In fact, Adichie was the only African among the 13 women.
Adichie was the one who brought this to our attention, writing on Facebook:
“In celebration of International Women’s Day, a quote from Chimamanda Ngozi Adichie’s DEAR IJEAWELE is featured on the Google Search homepage.”
The quote itself is very profound and moving and we can see why Google will consider it powerful enough to empower, not just women but people; helping them to gain and maintain a sense of self-worth.
The artist who designed this quote, New York-based Polish graphic designer Zuzanna Rogatty, says of the inspiration behind the design:
“Through expressive and rhythmic lettering, I tried to illustrate the energy and power coming from the quote. I especially highlighted the word ‘equally’ and the last ‘I matter”, which I felt should sound the loudest.”
The list of women featured in the Doodle includes (in alphabetical order):
Chimamanda Adichie, Nigerian writer
Millicent Fawcett, British writer and suffragette
Zaha Hadid, British-Iraqi architect
Emma Herwegh, German writer
Dr Mae Jemison, American astronaut and physician
Frida Kahlo, Mexican artist
Mary Kom, Indian boxer
Clarice Lispector, Brazilian novelist
Yoko Ono, Japanese multimedia artist
George Sand, French novelist
Sanmao, Chinese-born Taiwanese writer
Marina Tsvetaeva, Russian poet
NL Beno Zephine, Indian diplomat
To read the quotes by these women as well as to see the quote designs, visit this Google webpage.
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