Sundar Pichai, the CEO of Google and Alphabet, told employees that the company is committing over $175 million to help fund more Black-owned businesses and increase the representation of Black leaders. Pichai also mentioned that peer badge-checks will be discontinued after several employees claimed that they had encouraged racist behaviors. In a blog post on Wednesday, Pichai wrote, "Over the past several weeks, violent and racist attacks against the Black community have forced the world to reckon with the structural and systemic racism that Black people have experienced over generations. My own search for answers started within our own walls."
The Death of George Floyd PromptsChange
Google's commitment towards the Black community came after the death of George Floyd, who diedat the hands of a police officer, sparking worldwide protests. In response to the footage of Floyd's death, Pichai stated the company would donate $12 million to racial justice organizations. YouTube also said that it would set up a $100 million fund for Black YouTubers and artists to help "amplify" Black creators and artists on its platform.
This commitment can be seen as a response to the company experiencingbacklash for scaling back on its diversity programs as well. It also did not provide adequate resources since many of the links it provided for diversity information were broken. For several years, very little has changed within Google. In fact, the percentage of black employees at Google has remained constant at 3.3%.
How the “Economic Opportunity Package” Will Be Distributed
According to Pichai, the $175 million "Economic Opportunity Package" will benefit Black startup founders, small company owners, job seekers, and developers. A total of $50 million will be allocated to the Black community in the form of grants for small enterprises. The $100 million will be used to assist Black-led enterprises, organizations that support Black entrepreneurs, and Black-led venture capital firms. The remaining money will be used to expand Black representation within the developers' ecosystem and to provide skill training. Pichai, Google, and Alphabet are all dedicated to building a more inclusive community within the company.
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