Thomas Barwick | Stone | Getty Images
Goldman Sachs on Wednesday announced plans to commit $10 billion in funding over the next decade toward advancing racial equity and economic opportunity for Black women.
Called “One Million Black Women,” the new initiative will focus on areas including access to capital, job creation, financial health and workforce advancement. Goldman says the effort is “the largest announcement of its kind in size and scope.”
Goldman is partnering with Black women-led organizations in an effort to better understand the barriers Black women face.
The bank will also invest $100 million in philanthropic capital over the next decade. The targeted funding will take the form of direct investing, as well as grants. The firm said that initial investments are already underway.
The program’s goal is to positively impact the lives of at least one million Black women by 2030, and its advisory council includes former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice.
Goldman’s announcement comes as employees, shareholders and society more broadly have called on corporate America to do more in the fight against systemic racism. Many companies have announced new diversity and inclusion measures, but whether these initiatives translate into real progress remains to be seen.
In conjunction with its funding announcement, Goldman released a report called “Black Womenomics,” seeking to quantify the gender and racial biases that Black women have faced and continue to face.
Like countless studies before, the findings show racial inequality is not just a social issue, but an economic one, too.
The research found that Black women are paid 35% less than white men. Reducing this earnings gap could create between 1.2 million and 1.7 million new jobs in the U.S., while increasing U.S. GDP by as much as $450 billion, or 2.1%, annually.
Progress in overcoming the wage gap has stalled. The wage gap between Black women and white women currently stands at 15%, up from 5% in the early 1980s. Back then differences were attributed to education, occupations and industries. While these factors remain relevant today, harder-to-measure barriers including differences in career opportunities are now playing a larger part.
“Largely because of lower earnings and limited access to capital, Black Americans are much less likely to own high-return assets than white individuals, including homes, stocks, and especially their own businesses,” the report stated, finding that the median Black household owns almost 90% less wealth than the median white household.
The coronavirus pandemic has exacerbated the challenges faced by Black women. February jobs data showed a 5.9% unemployment rate for women overall, while the figure for Black women stood at 8.9%.
