NPower's Command Shift Coalition Announces New Leading Corporate and Nonprofit Partners to Expand and Advance Mission: Accelerating More Women of Color in Tech

NEW YORK, Feb. 2, 2022 /PRNewswire/ -- Today, national tech training nonprofit NPower's Command Shift Coalition welcomes Fortune 500 companies and leading nonprofits to its roster, building on its already strong foundational partnerships with Citi, Amazon Web Services, Guardian Life, WWT and Comcast NBCUniversal. New partners, committed to driving Command Shift's mission of catalyzing a seismic increase in the number of women of color in tech, are Accenture, Girls Who Code, Broadridge, Workday and the Girl Scouts of the USA.

NPower, which focuses on advancing race and gender equity and increasing economic prosperity for underrepresented populations through tech jobs, first launched Command Shift in May 2021, and since then, the Coalition has successfully continued to attract allies, advocates and partners who share its vision to activate substantive meaningful change in the lives of underrepresented women of color from non-traditional backgrounds through tech jobs.  

"Joining Command Shift was a natural alignment with our mission at Girls Who Code; investing in the representation of Black and brown students and making sure they have future-proof skills and a seat at the table," said Dr. Tarika Barrett, Chief Executive Officer, Girls Who Code. "We're grateful for the opportunity to collaborate as we continue the work to break down barriers and close the gender gap in tech for good."

"We are excited to partner with NPower to ensure that more girls of color see themselves as creators, innovators, and visionaries in the tech space," says Girl Scouts of the USA CEO Sofia Chang. "Girl Scouts continues to expand our leadership in girls' STEM education and equip them with the knowledge, skills, and confidence to excel in technology and beyond, and we are proud to join NPower to inspire today's ambitious girls of color to be tomorrow's tech leaders."

Currently, Black and Latinx women are woefully underrepresented in tech and only account for 5% of related jobs overall.  Command Shift's goal is to harness the power of its partners, along with other public and private allies, and break-down entrenched biases and institutional barriers preventing underserved women of color from accessing good paying tech jobs and the stability and security they deserve.

"At Accenture, our purpose is to deliver on the promise of technology and human ingenuity; we know that accelerating a culture of equality for all is a multiplier of innovation and growth," said Coriel Taylor, Managing Director, Accenture.  "We have a bold commitment to achieve a gender-balanced workforce by 2025.  And our ambitions go beyond our own business, including partnering with Command Shift to increase the number of women of color in tech careers."

With the support of its partners, later this spring Command Shift will unveil in-depth proprietary  research with leading labor market analytics firm Emsi Burning Glass that will reveal data-driven strategies and pathways to guide Command Shift and its partners in helping to achieve their goal.

"I am confident that Command Shift is the movement that will bring the right people together to make lasting change," said Viola Maxwell Thompson, CEO Emeritus, IT Senior Management Forum and NPower Board Member. "The hunger to drive change for women of color in tech is present in every partner of the organization, and when paired with listening and learning from one another, becomes a driving force that hopefully will have ripple effects beyond the tech industry."

To learn more about Command Shift, visit www.commandshift.org.

About Command Shift
Command Shift, Accelerating More Women of Color in Tech, is a national consortium of women and allies that advocate for strategies that invest in and inspire the advancement of young women of color in tech careers—with particular focus on women from underrepresented communities and non-traditional pathways. The coalition is composed of business leaders, corporations, nonprofits, and community organizations, who will address the glaring inequalities of women of color in tech. To learn more and join Command Shift, visit https://www.npower.org/commandshift/

About NPower
NPower is a national nonprofit, rooted in community, that is committed to advancing race and gender equity in the tech industry. Through skills training, real world experience, support and mentorship, NPower graduates launch burgeoning careers and a pathway to financial freedom for themselves and their families. Students who enter their free, six-month program, earn industry-recognized certifications and graduate with the competencies of an IT professional with one to two years of experience. Eighty-one percent of NPower graduates get a full-time job or continue their education. Not only is NPower changing life trajectories for individuals from vulnerable communities but they are also strengthening the overall competitiveness of U.S. businesses hamstrung by today's limited pool of IT talent. To learn more about NPower, visit http://www.npower.org.

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SOURCE NPower