Firm Awards $25m to Organisations Supporting Women, Girls

Emma Okonji

Google.org has announced the 34 funding recipients of the Google.org Impact Challenge for Women and Girls. The $25 million global philanthropy challenge, was launched in March 2021 and called for gender equity focused organizations to submit their boldest and most innovative ideas to create a more equitable economic reality for women and girls.

Google.org partnered women-led panel of experts – including leaders like Rigoberta Menchu, Naomi Osaka, Shakira, Susan Wojcicki, and Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka – and gender equity-focused organizations Vital Voices and Project Everyone to evaluate proposals based on four key criteria: innovation, impact, feasibility, and scalability.

The selected organisations have outlined projects that will help women and girls, especially those in geographically, economically or socially marginalised populations, reach their full economic potential.

In addition to funding of up to $1 million each, recipients will participate in a four-month accelerator program led by Google’s Accelerator and Women Techmakers communities, in partnership with Vital Voices to move their projects forward. Select organizations will also receive a Google.org Fellowship and dedicated Ad Grants to promote their mission.
President of Google.org, Jacquelline Fuller, said: “Globally, women have been nearly twice as likely to lose their jobs during COVID-19 as men. It’s vital that we elevate and support work that empowers women and girls to reach their full economic potential, especially in marginalised communities.

“The pandemic recovery must be an inclusive one, and we know that when we invest in women and girls, we all benefit.”
Google.org received 7,800 applications; the most ever received for a Google.org Impact Challenge. An analysis of the application data, commissioned by Google.org and conducted by King’s College London’s Global Institute for Women’s Leadership, identified four main focus areas for organisations around the world proposing pathways to economic empowerment for women and girls. These focus areas, with recipient examples, include: Education, Entrepreneurship and Businesses,Science and financial awareness for young women and girls, Financial Independence and Support and Skills Development and Career Advancement

In the area of education, SwaTaleem Foundation from India will use funding to build an app, which doesn’t require an internet connection, that provides skills in mathematics.

For Entrepreneurship and Businesses, the Asociación Colnodo from Colombia will connect rural women entrepreneurs to the internet and each other through cohort programing and mentorship.

For Financial Independence and Support, Girls Inc of New York City from US, will build a financial budgeting app for girls of color from low-income households. In the area of Skills Development and Career Advancement, Project Akilah from Rwanda, will build a pipeline of formal economic career opportunities for rural women.

President and CEO of Vital Voices Global Partnership, Alyse Nelson, said: “The world is watching how quickly crises can roll back progress made toward gender equality. Women’s voices, participation, and leadership across every sector of society is more critical than ever.

“At Vital Voices, we are thrilled to partner with Google.org as they invest in projects with strong roots in community, bold ideas that bridge divides, and a strong commitment to paying it forward.”

Co-founder at Project Everyone, Kate Garvey, said: “At Project Everyone we know that achieving gender equality is at the heart of achieving all 17 of the UN Sustainable Development Goals, so we were excited to partner with Google.org and Vital Voices on this powerful initiative.

“The Impact Challenge is an example of how cross-sector collaborations can accelerate progress towards the Goals and demonstrates how we can all play our part in solving the world’s greatest problems.”