Google continues to be at the forefront of building the pipelines of Black talent with its latest initiative.
The tech giant launched an initiative to offer 100,000 Black women digital skills training by spring 2022.
During the Coronavirus pandemic, 56% of women have left the workforce, with Black women being the most significantly affected. They lost close to 155,000 jobs in December 2020 alone.
Growing with a Tech Giant
Grow with Google: Black Women Lead’s objective is to close the economic gap, with the tech firm citing data that 80% of the US’s medial-level jobs need digital proficiency.
The initiative will also include a lucrative partnership with some of the most prominent organizations, including four National Panhellenic Sororities: Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, Zeta Phi Beta, and Alpha Kappa Alpha.
Google will also team up with Dress For Success and The Links to bring the ‘million-dollar’ initiative to fruition.
Dress For Success is an international not-for-profit organization that empowers women to strive for and attain economic independence by providing them with a reliable support system, professional attire, and career development tools to enable them to thrive at work and in life exponentially.
To date, the organization has helped more than 1.2 million women work towards self-sufficiency.
As for The Links, the corporation is a long-standing not-for-profit organization established in the 40s.
The firm prides itself on being one the oldest and leading volunteer service corporations of remarkable women devoted to enriching, supporting, and ensuring that the values and economic subsistence of African Americans and other persons of African descent.
“Google is proud to stand with Dress for Success, The Links, and four of the National PanHellenic Sororities.
The initiative will be essential in helping more Black Women access the digital skills and development tools required in the current job market,” Melonie Parker, the Chief Diversity Officer for Google, said in a press release.
As part of the training, Black women will attend several workshops, including interview training, analytics-based decision-making, networking, resume building, the fundamentals of online marketing, mentorship, and more.
Glenda Glover, the President of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority, said the partnership would allow Black women to prepare for modern and exciting job opportunities.
In collaboration with Google, the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority will help in narrowing the digital divide as indicated by the Covid-19 pandemic.
“Through mobilizing members of the 1,026 chapters, Alpha Kappa Alpha is helping prepare Black women for new educational opportunities that are otherwise not readily available,” Glover said in a statement.
In 2019, Google committed $175 million to racial equity initiatives, of which $100 million will go to Black venture capital companies, startups. Another $50 million will be vital in financing and providing grants to small businesses focused on the Black community.
