In support of women, Google.org announced a $25m pledge to reinforce the companyâs commitment to women and girls in Africa. The pledge forms part of a new Google Impact Challenge (GIC) for Women and Girls, which reinforces Googleâs commitment to women on the African continent.
Google has committed a total of $25 million in cash grants that will be made available to select applicants; ânonprofits and social enterprises creating pathways to prosperity for women and girlsâ.
On a Womenâs Day event held on Monday, the Google team announced that the GIC for Women and Girls follow on from initiatives such as the 2019 Africa launch of Women Will and Googleâs #IamRemarkable workshop series.
Alistair Mokoena, Google South Africa country director explained that the goal of the new initiative is to assist women and girls to reach their full potential and thrive, especially during the pandemic.
At the Womenâs Day event, Mokoena cited the Foresight Africa report, showing that the worldwide COVID-29 pandemic âexacerbated already-existing gender inequalitiesâ.
âDespite decades of work aimed at achieving gender equality, the disparity between men and women not only remains â it is growing alarmingly, largely thanks to the global pandemicâ.
Mokoena said, âbold new ideasâ are needed to move the mission forward, especially while economies and societies are rebuilding in the wake of the pandemic.
âWe canât afford to go back to the way things were, and we certainly canât do it aloneâ.
Mokoena concluded by saying: âIf you want to make a difference in the lives of women and girls in Africa, enter your organisation before 2 April by submitting applications at www.g.co/womenandgirlschallenge. Entries close at 11:59 GMT.â
