Google officially launched an initiative Friday to provide 100,000 Black women with career development and digital skills training by 2022.
The Grow With Google partnership will team Google with six organizations including four National Panhellenic Sororities: Alpha Kappa Alpha, Delta Sigma Theta, Sigma Gamma Rho, and Zeta Phi Beta.
The tech giant will work with the sororities as well as Dress For Success and The Links
to offer leadership development and digital skills training to support Black women.“Google is proud to stand with Dress for Success, the Links, and four of the National Panhellenic Sororities to help more Black women get access to the digital skills and career development needed to enter today’s most in-demand jobs,” Melonie Parker, Chief Diversity Officer for Google said in a release.
The effort comes as many American women are feeling the brunt of the coronavirus pandemic. especially occupationally. In December alone, Black women lost 154,000 jobs. Today, one in six Black women are unemployed.
The initiative will assist Black women with resume building, interview training and fundamentals of online marketing. Dress for Success will support the effort with interview preparation, mentorship and networking to women in the program.
Glenda Glover, President of the Alpha Kappa Alpha sorority said the partnership will help Black women to prepare for new and exciting opportunities.
In partnering with Google, Alpha Kappa Alpha will narrow the digital divide, one further revealed by this pandemic. By mobilizing our membership of 1,026 chapters, we are helping prepare them for new educational opportunities, otherwise not easily available,” Glover said in a statement. “Alpha Kappa Alpha strives to exemplify excellence by building sustainable pipelines for education and development.”
Last year, the technology company committed $175 million to racial equity initiatives. that included $100 million that will go to Black venture capital firms, startups. Another $50 million will be used for financing and grants for small businesses “focused on the Black community.