The new Facebook’s initiative is a part of a $1.1 billion investment to support diverse suppliers and communities in the U.S. Following the announcement, FB stock is up.
Tech giants are now fighting racial injustice. Earlier, Apple Inc (NASDAQ: AAPL) promised to donate $100 million to foster racial equity, Google LLC (NASDAQ: GOOG) pledged $175 million and YouTube contributed $100 million. On Thursday, the list was expanded as Facebook Inc (NASDAQ: FB) pledged to make a $200 million investment to support organizations owned by the Black community. Facebook (FB) stock positively reacted to the news.
According to Facebook COO Sheryl Sandberg, the initiative is a part of a $1.1 billion investment to support diverse suppliers and communities in the U.S.
Facebook CEO Mark Zuckerberg said:
“We’ve been speaking with Black business owners to understand how we can best support them, and in the short term, we’ve heard that financial support can go a long way, especially during a pandemic and economic downturn that have disproportionately impacted communities of color.”
As Facebook explained, out of the $200 million investment, $25 million will go to black content creators, $75 million will be allocated for grants and credits for businesses, and $100 million will be spent on donations to black-owned suppliers.
By the way, Facebook already pledged $10 million to groups combating racial injustice. The company decided to spend $100 million every year with Black-owned suppliers. In addition, it will expand the representation of people of color in its workforce. The goal is to have 50% of employees “from underrepresented communities” by the end of 2023. Over the next five years, Facebook also plans to include 30% more black people to its leadership positions.
Currently, 3.8% of Facebook employees and 3.1% of its senior management is Black.
Facebook Stock Goes Up after News on Investment
Following Facebook’s announcement, its stock went up. On June 18, FB shares grew by 0.17% to end at $235.94. In the pre-market today, the Facebook stock added another 0.24% to reach $236.50 per share. Its market cap is $672.217 billion.
Facebook’s share price is strongly keeping above the $200.00 level. As traders and investors continue to buy U.S. technology-related stocks, Facebook’s share price appears poised for further gains.
Spreading Diversification Policy
Notably, Facebook is not the only company that decided to diversify its leadership. After numerous protests across the U.S. that started when Policeman Derek Chauvin killed George Floyd in a knee-lock chokehold, organizations realized the necessity to support diversity in our society.
Recently, Alphabet Inc (NASDAQ: GOOGL) CEO Sundar Pichai announced sweeping changes in the company’s approach to diversity. In particular, the company aims to increase underrepresented minority groups in leadership positions by 30% by 2025. It has also put together financial incentives to assist black businesses, black-owned startups, and employees.
The move might be a small one for the company of such a size. However, it is a step in the right direction anyway.
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