JPMorgan Chase is remaining committed to its goal of creating innovative and sustainable ways to advance equity in U.S. communities. 

On Jan. 25, the firm announced a new $30 million commitment designed to help Black and Latina women address racial and gender wealth gaps — one of the largest single investments the firm has made towards Black and Latina women. 

“To help address the challenges faced by many Black and Latina women across the U.S., we are investing in collaborations, drawing on the strengths of public and private sectors, to develop and test innovative and sustainable solutions. We know taking on these monumental issues will require a diversity of perspectives, areas of expertise, and skills,” said Demetrios Marantis, Global Head of Corporate Responsibility at JPMorgan Chase & Co, in a press release. 

As part of JP Morgan Chase’s commitment, six organizations across the United States will receive $5 million each in Black and Latina women-led philanthropic commitments to tackle issues such as financial health and coaching, entrepreneurship, housing stability and career support. 

JPMorgan Chase announced two of the winners:

• Martha’s Table, LIFT-DC, Venture Philanthropy Partners+ Raise DC, American University, Trinity Washington University, and the Urban Institute are partnering to launch the Advancing Early Education Collaborative. The partnership will aim to increase access to education, skills and training opportunities, along with wealth building and capacity building for early childhood educators and centers that employ them. 
• Latino Economic Development Center of Washington, D.C., University of Maryland Baltimore’s Community Engagement Center, Black Women Build Baltimore, Baltimore D.C. Building Trades, Byte Back and Baltimore Community Lending will create a continuum of wealth building for Black and Latina women developers in West Baltimore.

These two collaboratives are especially critical, given the many disparities that Black and Latina women face — many of which exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic. 

In the Washington region, the majority of early childcare educators are Black and Latina women, but only one-fifth of all early childhood educators in the region have a bachelor’s degree. 

With the Advancing Early Education Collaborative, the goal is to expand access to postsecondary education through fully-funded scholarships and certification opportunities, provide services such as education and financial coaching, tech access, professional development, stipends for childcare and transportation,

“Our work is driven by our belief that every Washingtonian deserves the opportunity to thrive,” said Kim R. Ford, president & CEO of Martha’s Table, in a statement. “We are deeply grateful to the JPMorgan Chase and to our outstanding peers in the Advancing Early Education Collaborative for their partnership. Together, we will help foster a strong workforce of talented early educators as well as an educational system that reflects the true value of this critical profession.”

Meanwhile in Baltimore, 66% of Black, Latino and Hispanic households meet the standard for liquid-asset poverty. The largest percentages of those experiencing poverty are women between the ages of 25 and 64, with 50% of which also being cost-burdened renters. 

Its collaborative will seek to provide lines of credit and grants to Black and Latina women real estate developers in low- and moderate-income neighborhoods of Baltimore to help eliminate barriers in real estate development and close the appraisal gap, recruit Black and Latina women into construction apprenticeships, and establish a small business incubator program. 

According to the U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics, more than two million women left the labor force during the COVID crisis, and the unemployment rate for Black and Latina women remains persistently higher than the rates for White and Asian men and women. 

The JPMorgan Chase Institute also reported that Black and Latina women were particularly vulnerable to the financial effects of the pandemic, particularly in areas such as childcare responsibilities created by closed or virtual schools and daycares. In addition, female-led households experienced the fastest depletion of their stimulus balance gains.  

JPMorgan Chase is also showing its commitment to expanding opportunities for women around the world by supporting organizations like the Institute for Women’s Policy Research, Jeremiah Program, Capital Enterprise and SmartStart.

The four remaining winners as part of the JPMorgan Chase commitment to close the wealth gap for Black and Latina women will be announced in the coming weeks.