Leading investment bank and financial services company, The Goldman Sachs Group recently announced that it would invest $10 billion over the next ten years to advance racial equity and support Black women.
Called ‘One Million Black Women’, this initiative has been launched in collaboration with Black women-led organizations and “will drive investment in housing; healthcare; access to capital; education; job creation and workforce advancement; digital connectivity; and financial health.”
One of the largest initiatives of its kind, this project aims to impact positively the lives of at least 1 million Black women by 2030.
It would also set aside an additional $100 million over the next decade for philanthropic ventures focused on African-American women and to reduce “the dual disproportionate gender and racial biases that Black women have faced for generations.”
“Our newly published research, Black Womenomics, suggests that no investment could have a bigger impact than unlocking the economic potential of Black women,” said David M. Solomon, chairman and CEO of Goldman Sachs. “In the face of significant disparities, they’ve shown admirable resilience, especially as they’re starting businesses faster than anyone else in the U.S. Building on our 20-year history of investing in female entrepreneurs and underserved communities we are now proud to partner with Black female-led organizations and an outstanding advisory council to invest in opportunities to unlock their economic and leadership potential.”
The study Black Womenomics estimates that reducing the earnings gap for Black women has the potential to create around 1.2 to 1.7 million U.S. jobs, and increase the annual GDP of the United States by $300 to 450 billion in current U.S. dollars.
Apart from Black women across Goldman Sachs, the initiative will be led by an Advisory Council of Black leaders, which include eminent personalities such as former Secretary of State of the United States, Condoleezza Rice; chief executive officer of drugstore chain Walgreens Boots Alliance, Rosalind Brewer; vice president of environment, policy, and social initiatives at Apple Inc, Lisa Jackson; and President and Dean, Morehouse School of Medicine, Valerie Montgomery Rice, among others.
“This initiative is transformational,” said Melanie Campbell, Convener of the Black Women’s Roundtable and President and CEO of the National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, a partner with Goldman Sachs on the program. “What Goldman Sachs is doing has the potential to materially impact the lives of Black women, their families and communities across the country.”
The investment will be made through direct investing and grants which emphasize financial health and digital connectivity across impact areas.
Isn’t this an amazing initiative by Goldman Sachs? What do you think? Let us know your views in the comments section below.
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