National tech training nonprofit NPower was awarded a $1 million grant from MetLife Foundation to fund tech training programs that help to move women, people of color, military veterans, and military spouses from poverty to the middle class through tech jobs.
The grant will fund NPower’s virtual courses that provide critical tech skills training, mentoring, and apprenticeship opportunities for often overlooked populations. The funding also includes an investment in Command Shift, NPower’s national consortium of partners, allies, and advocates focused on achieving workforce equity and equality for women of color in tech.
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NPower’s strategic mission is rooted in research, most recently a comprehensive report that revealed there are 250,000 qualified women of color currently missing from today’s booming tech industry. The data also show that there are approximately 2.6 million women of color in the tech-eligible, skill-similar workforce who, with more tech-training, could step into tech positions and the increased income they can bring.
NPower CEO, Bertina Ceccarelli, said, “This generous grant from MetLife Foundation will help to advance our vision of empowering historically marginalized communities with the tech training needed to advance their economic opportunities through tech careers. We’re extremely grateful to MetLife Foundation for selecting NPower as one of the partners of their pledge.”
The grant is part of MetLife Foundation’s strategy to drive inclusive economic mobility by addressing the needs of underserved and underrepresented communities. Earlier this year, MetLife Foundation pledged $150 million in funding and MetLife pledged 800,000 employee volunteer hours through 2030 to support historically marginalized individuals and their families.
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“MetLife Foundation is proud to support NPower accelerate careers in technology for women of color, military veterans and their spouses. The intentional focus on this community of talent is an economic imperative and will play a critical role to boost their economic and intergeneration mobility,” said Tia Hodges, president and CEO of MetLife Foundation and head of Corporate Giving and Employee Engagement at MetLife. “Our work together aligns to the Foundation’s ongoing commitment to DEI in high-growth sectors like technology where the voices and leadership of people from diverse communities matters now more than ever.”
As part of the grant, leaders from MetLife’s Global Technology and Operations team will represent MetLife on the Command Shift Coalition to drive a seismic shift in the recruitment, retention, and advancement of women of color as part of a goal to increase the presence of women of color in tech to 10% in 10 years.
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