Google to provide 100,000 Black women with career, digital skills training

Google is aiming to help the employment crisis women of color continue to face during the pandemic.

The tech giant on Friday announced an initiative to provide 100,000 Black women with career development and digital skills training by spring 2022.

During the COVID-19 pandemic, women have accounted for 56% of people leaving the workforce, with Black women significantly impacted, losing 154,000 jobs in the month of December 2020 alone, according to data aims to close the economic opportunity gap, with Google citing data that 80% of middle-skill jobs in the U.S. require digital proficiency. The company is teaming up with six groups led by Black women, including Dress for Success, which provides a network of professional support and career services like mentorship and interview training for women; The Links Inc., a non-profit volunteer service; and four sororities of the National Pan-Hellenic Council, an organization composed of historically African American collegiate sororities and fraternities.

Workshops featured will include interview training, resume building, analytics-based decision-making, online marketing, and more. The initiative is part of a $15 million commitment Google announced in June to help Black job seekers grow their digital skills.

“The pandemic has resulted in unemployment for millions of Americans, and its impacts are further revealing the economic opportunity gaps that still exist for Black women,” Melonie Parker, Chief Diversity Officer at Google, said in a statement.

“I am grateful to the leaders of these organizations, who are uniting for the first time with the shared goal of upskilling 100,000 Black women with digital skills. Their legacy, expertise and credibility will help ensure we accomplish this mission,” she added.

Overall, women have lost 5.4 million jobs during the first 10 months of the pandemic, according to data from the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics.