Google Brazil launches internship for young black professionals
Google has launched a new internship program aimed at young black professionals based in Brazil.
The Next Step initiative is aimed at increasing the representation of black employees at the company's Brazilian offices.
One of the main differences of the program is that it will not include fluency in English as part of the list of desired qualifications. The company will aim to address this by offering an intensive on-premises English language course.
That is because less than 5 percent of the country's population speaks a second language and that number drops considerably among the black community, according to studies carried out by the British Council and numbers obtained by Google itself.
In addition, professional competencies will be developed through a support network of Google employees who will coach and mentor the selected interns.
"With this new program, we want to find the next generation of Googlers that represents the rich diversity of the ecosystem of users, customers and partners in Brazil," says Google Brazil president, Fábio Coelho.
The program is expected to last for two years and will take place at Google's offices in São Paulo. Interns will be working across various business areas including sales, finance, marketing and human resources.
Students from greater São Paulo graduating between July and December 2021 can apply online for the program until February 22.
According to Google's annual diversity report released last year, the company has high attrition rates for black employees. This has offset some of the hiring gains and led to smaller increases in representation than if it had been able to retain staff already at the company.
The company's diversity report from last year also revealed that leadership is 74.5 percent male and 66.9 percent white.