The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. recently announced new developments for the One Million Black Women initiative. This initiative has committed more than $10 billion to advance racial equity and economic opportunity by investing in Black women.
The initiative’s mission is to ground investment decisions in the voices and experiences of Black women. Goldman Sachs, in partnership with Black-women-led organizations, conducted 17 listening sessions. These sessions included public town hall discussions and smaller roundtable dialogues. Those conversations have been particularly instrumental in steering the first round of investments for the initiative.
Taking the initiative
One Million Black Women is guided by an Advisory Council of well-respected Black leaders. The Council conducted its first meeting on May 17. Members provided strategic guidance on the scope of investments and their potential to positively impact the lives of Black women. Goldman Sachs announced the first set of investments shortly after the first Advisory Council meeting. As a result of these efforts, Goldman Sachs will inch closer to its goal of improving the lives of one million Black women over the next 10 years.
“The listening sessions have been transformational,” said President and Dean Valerie Montgomery Rice, MD, Morehouse School of Medicine and a member of the One Million Black Women Advisory Council. “The One Million Black Women initiative has, from the start, worked to listen to the ideas, concerns and aspirations of Black women. The $10 billion dollar investment will allow for more Black women to realize their full potential and become the economic drivers we know they are. I’m excited to partner with Goldman Sachs and be a part of this movement.”
An impressive group of council members
Stephen and Ayesha Curry are the latest additions to the Advisory Council. Additionally, there is a new partnership with with Ayesha Curry and small business and commercial real estate lender Lendistry. Above all, its goal is to encourage and develop Black women entrepreneurs in the restaurant industry in the Greater Oakland area.
Black women leaders across Goldman Sachs developed and will continue to lead this initiative alongside an Advisory Council which includes:
- Melissa L. Bradley
- Rosalind G. Brewer
- Bill Bynum
- Melanie Campbell
- Ayesha Curry
- Stephen Curry
- Thelma Golden
- Lisa P. Jackson
- Valerie B. Jarrett
- Lisa Mensah
- Dr. Valerie Montgomery Rice
- Marc H. Morial
- Dr. Dambisa Moyo
- Issa Rae
- Secretary Condoleezza Rice
- Dr. Ruth J. Simmons
- Darren Walker
Throughout the summer, Goldman Sachs in collaboration with Advisory Council members and Black-women-led organizations, will continue the national dialogue about how to use investment capital to positively impact the lives of Black women and communities. These efforts will also include an increased focus on childhood literacy. This will be led by Stephen Curry, in collaboration with his and Ayesha Curry’s non-profit organization Eat. Learn. Play. The Currys launched Eat. Learn. Play. in 2019 to focus on three vital pillars of a healthy childhood — nutrition, education and physical activity.
About the One Million Black Women Initiative
In partnership with Black-women-led organizations, financial institutions and other partners, Goldman Sachs has committed $10 billion in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital over the next decade to address the dual disproportionate gender and racial biases that Black women have faced for generations, which have only been exacerbated by the pandemic. The initiative, One Million Black Women, is named for and guided by the goal of impacting the lives of at least one million Black women by 2030.
About Goldman Sachs
The Goldman Sachs Group, Inc. is a leading global financial institution that delivers a broad range of financial services across investment banking, securities, investment management and consumer banking to a large and diversified client base that includes corporations, financial institutions, governments and individuals. Founded in 1869, the firm is headquartered in New York and maintains offices in all major financial centers around the world.
Looking for more money resources? Take a look at our May money roundup.
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