Goldman Sachs is working toward the erasure of gender and racial biases with their latest initiative. The banking company has teamed up with Black women-led organizations to announce One Million Black Women — an initiative that will pledge $10 million in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital over the next decade toward the advancement of Black women. Issa Rae has been tapped as one of the members of the advisory council.
“Given all that’s happened over the course of the last year, we’ve done a lot of talking at the firm—and even more listening—to help us figure out how we can do more to end the racial inequity and the gaps that have existed in society for well too long,” said Goldman Sachs’ CEO David Solomon.
“What we’re trying to do is to set up the infrastructure, the commitment and the resources to have something that’s sustainable over a long period of time to really make a difference. If after six months from now people are going to say, ‘Okay, where’s the beef,’ the response is going to be, ‘We’re just getting started,’” he continued.
“There’s a tendency with these things for companies to make an announcement and then for it to fade away. If we had said $500 million, we would have done some good things for a year, but it wouldn’t have the tangible impact that we’re really trying to have… Impact comes with sustained effort over a long period of time. We’re very prepared for that.”
The initial investments from One Million Black Women will specifically focus on access to capital, job creation, financial health, workforce advancement and more. Additionally, Goldman Sachs plans to launch of a series of listening sessions that will gather input on the resources that will best serve Black women. The ultimate goal: To impact the lives of at least one million Black women by 2030.