Google vows to empower 50,000 women across Africa

LAGOS, March 8 (Xinhua) -- Top internet company Google on Friday unveiled in Lagos a new initiative, Womenwill, targeting some 50,000 women across Africa, in a bid to create economic opportunities for them.

The head of Google Africa Brand and Reputation, Mojolaoluwa Akinremi-Makinde, while unveiling the initiative in Lagos, Nigeria's economic hub, said 18 new Womenwill chapters had been opened across Sub-Saharan Africa.

The initiative was in honor of the International Women's Day in 2019, Akinremi-Makinde said.

"Helping women make the most of technology to build skills, get inspired, and connect with each other through training, events and advocacy, Womenwill aims to drive conversations promoting gender equality to benefit everyone," she said.

Akinremi-Makinde said the gender gap that existed between men and women could be resolved, if women had the same access to resources and skill acquisition sources as men.

Bridging this gender gap, she said, was the motivation for expanding the Womenwill chapters in Sub-Saharan Africa and continuing Google's focus on diversity and gender equality into 2019 and beyond.