*Goldman Sachs is set to invest $10 billion in an initiative called “One Million Black Women.”
CEO David Solomon tells Essence in an exclusive that the OMBW initiative will support Black women over the next 10 years through healthcare, jobs, and education.
“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,” Solomon said. “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,” he explained.
“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.’ There’s a tendency with these things for companies to make an announcement and then for it to fade away,” Solomon continued. “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.”
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Today we partnered with Black women-led organizations and leaders to launch a new initiative – One Million Black Women – a $10 Billion investment aimed at reducing the race and gender wealth gap for Black women: https://t.co/llijlaVB2S. #BlackWomenImpact
— Goldman Sachs (@GoldmanSachs) March 10, 2021
“What Goldman Sachs is doing has the potential to materially impact the lives of Black women, their families and communities across the country,” said Melanie Campbell, a partner with Goldman Sachs on the program, in the statement.
“Black women have always been a force in our communities and are now emerging even more with the power and position they deserve,” said Marc Morial, president and CEO of the National Urban League, who also sits on the One Million Black Women Advisory Council. “They are voters and drivers of consumer tastes. Black women are also drivers of culture, including fashion, music, and the arts, and now are making an undeniable impact on politics.”
Per Essence, other One Million Black Women Advisory Council members include: Melissa L. Bradley, Managing Partner, 1863 Ventures; Rosalind G. Brewer, Chief Executive Officer, Walgreens; Bill Bynum, CEO of Hope Enterprise Corporation and Hope Credit Union; Melanie Campbell, CEO of The National Coalition on Black Civic Participation, Convener of The Black Women’s Roundtable; Thelma Golden, Director and Chief Curator, The Studio Museum in Harlem; Lisa P. Jackson, Vice President, Environment, Policy and Social Initiatives, Apple; Valerie B. Jarrett, Senior Distinguished Fellow, The University of Chicago Law School; Lisa Mensah, President & Chief Executive Officer, Opportunity Finance Network; Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice, President and Dean, Morehouse School of Medicine; Marc H. Morial, President and CEO, National Urban League; Dr. Dambisa Moyo, Co-principal of Versaca Investments, Global Economist & Author; Issa Rae, Actress, Writer, and Producer; Secretary Condoleezza Rice, Tad and Dianne Taube Director of the Hoover Institution and the Thomas and Barbara Stephenson Senior Fellow on Public Policy; Dr. Ruth J. Simmons, President, Prairie View A&M University and Darren Walker, President, Ford Foundation.
“If you take a look at the National Urban League, our workforce is now 70 percent women,” said Morial. “Our workforce is also 70 percent African-American. So African-American women may be 60 percent of our total workforce, including a majority of the leadership team.”
He continues: “You wouldn’t count these numbers 20 years ago, or even 15 years ago. So Black women are emerging in a place of power in American life that is long overdue. So to focus on an initiative like this, against the backdrop of facing double barriers of race and gender, is timely, critical and necessary.”
Scroll up and check out the video report about to learn more about the initiative.
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