Faizel Patel – 09/03/2021

(Twitter: @FaizelPatel143)

Google’s open call on International Women’s Day for applications for grant funding from its new global Impact Challenge (GIC) for Women and Girls, reinforces the organisation’s commitment to the empowerment of women and girls on the African continent.

The GIC for Women and Girls will provide $25 million in overall cash grants to nonprofits and social enterprises creating pathways to prosperity for women and girls.

It follows initiatives like the 2019 Africa launch of Women Will, Google’s initiative to create opportunities for women, and Google’s #IamRemarkable workshop series, which works to counteract conditioning that women should not celebrate their achievements.

Quoting the Foresight Africa report 2021, Google South Africa country director Alistair Mokoena says empowering women and girls in Africa to reach their full economic potential, and to thrive, is more critical now than ever before as they bear the brunt of the COVID-19 pandemic.

“It confirms that the coronavirus has “exacerbated already-existing gender inequalities, laying bare serious fault lines in safety, physical and mental health, education, domestic responsibilities, and employment opportunities. Despite decades of work aimed at achieving gender equality, the disparity between men and women not only remains – it is growing alarmingly, largely thanks to the global pandemic.”

The (GIC) for Women and Girls is focused on changing the status quo, with Mokoena stressing that job cuts, income losses and lack of education aren’t simply side-effects of the pandemic, but “will negatively impact the economic strides made by women and girls for many years to come”.

Organisations have until Friday, 2 April at 11:59pm GMT to submit their applications.

An all-female panel of expert Google executives and world / business leaders, including, executive director of UN Women Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka, Senior Special Assistant to the President of Nigeria on SDGs Victoria Adejoke Orelope-Adefulire and  Graça Machel  founder of the Graca Machel Trust among other will preside over the application review and selection process once applications close.

Grantees, who will be announced later this year, are eligible to receive funding ranging from $300,000 to $2 million with selected organisations also receiving  capacity building support and mentoring from Googlers.