Black women know what they need, what their families need, and what their communities need. But too often, their voices are unheard or ignored.
Today, in the United States, Black women face the dual injustice of inequality of race and gender. They have the highest rates of maternal and infant mortality in the US, receive 34% lower average wages than white men, and are recipients of just 0.6% of all VC capital, despite being the fastest-growing group of entrepreneurs.
The pandemic only widened the inequality. WRTHY developed the launch strategy and design for Goldman Sachs’ One Million Black Women, a $10 billion commitment to address the racial wealth gap faced by Black women in the United States.
Black women know what they need, what their families need, and what their communities need. But too often, their voices are unheard or ignored.
Starting with an initial audacious goal of narrowing opportunity gaps for One Million Black women, Goldman Sachs made a commitment to invest $10 billion in direct investment capital and $100 million in philanthropic capital with a race/gender lens.
Typically, in financial services, such announcements are made to the media with big public press announcements. We sought to take a different approach and move from telling to listening. The strategic positioning/launch plan was led by our mantra: Listen to Black women. Learn from Black women. Invest in Black women. Celebrate Black women. This meant giving Black women the floor in a meaningful way and listening to what Black women felt were the most effective interventions to tackle the racial/gender wealth gap.
The mantra was also reflected in the unique design approach. The color palette for One Million Black Women conveys a welcoming warmth and a bold, vibrant diversity. The graphic treatment was inspired by the simple, elemental shape of the Goldman Sachs mark. The irregularity of the geometric shapes and their interactions with each other became a subtle nod to diversity. We placed the emphasis on portraits of women, elevating their importance, self-determination, and dignity.
Goldman Sachs launched One Million Black Women in early March 2021 in partnership with a number of Black women-led organizations, and other partners.