A Call to Companies: Take Action on #BlackLivesMatter by Supporting 10K Diverse Leaders

NEW YORK - June 15, 2020 - PRLog -- New York, NY  – Girls With Impact (http://www.girlswithimpact.org/), the non-profit NextGen business academy for girls, today called on corporate CEOs to join its effort to train 10,000 diverse young women as tomorrow's leaders and innovators.

An outgrowth of Davos, Girls With Impact runs the nation's only live, online mini-MBA for girls 12-18. Its mission is to equip them with the skills, knowledge and confidence to be tomorrow's leaders, innovators and entrepreneurs.

Diversity has been a hallmark since inception. Over 50 percent of Girls With Impact's students are of color and the majority are from low and moderate income households.

"Companies are in crisis," said CEO Jennifer Openshaw. "Employees are asking for real action to prevent another George Floyd.  Corporate leaders – CHROs, CMOs, CEOs – have an opportunity right now to take action.

"Train our black and brown brothers and sisters to have access to equal opportunities – to lead from the top -- and together we can impact lives, our workplaces and our economy."

Openshaw said a host of industries are especially in need of supporting more diversity – tech, energy, financial services and private equity.

Among the companies supporting Girls With Impact's educational efforts are Johnson & Johnson, Wells Fargo, Eversource Energy, and Becton Dickinson

Companies can partner in several ways – from supporting an employee resource group (ERG) to underwriting girls in a region or school to supporting the effort to train 10,000 across the U.S.

Corporate partners benefit in additional ways – from enhancing their brand and reputation to employee engagement to community and social impact.

With Covid-19, Girls With Impact has served a real need with its digital programming from the comfort of home. Girls move from idea to business plan and venture pitch. Outcomes (http://www.girlswithimpact.org/our-impact) include increases in confidence, leadership, public speaking, tech and financial skills, college differentiation, college majors, scholarships and more.

Today, there are only 6% of female CEOs of the Fortune 500 companies and none are black.  Just 30% of entrepreneurs are women and women receive only about 2% of the $130 billion in venture capital funding, according to PitchBook.

Black Americans with a college education earn only two-thirds of what whites with only a high school diploma earn. The average black household net worth has not increased in seventy years in our country while the average white household net worth has soared.

Learn more. Contact jen@girlswithimpact.org.

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