Verizon brings together major Fortune 500 companies to launch Women’s CoLab

Despite tremendous strides toward greater gender equality and equity for women in the workplace, approximately 5.4 million jobs were lost by women in 2020 amid COVID-19. To help women re-enter the workforce and realize their career ambitions, Verizon and its partners today launched Women’s CoLab, an initiative providing women with essential resources to help them achieve success in an increasingly digital economy.

“In recent years, we have celebrated many history-making firsts that prove women belong in every room, at every table, and deserve to be seen and heard as equals,” said Tami Erwin, CEO of Verizon Business. “Unfortunately, the momentum we have achieved as a society has all but come to a standstill in the wake of the pandemic. With Women’s CoLab, we are committed to giving women the support and resources they need to reach their career aspirations and thrive professionally.”

The Women’s CoLab community, led by Verizon, launches today — on International Day of the Girl — with a virtual celebratory event featuring top women executives from Accenture, Disney, Bank of America, The Estée Lauder Companies, Ferrero, Mastercard, Scary Mommy and Walmart. During the panels and sessions, they will share lessons learned and career insights that helped them achieve success. The event can be viewed at no cost from 12 PM to 3:30 PM ET on the Women’s CoLab’s YouTube channel.

Beyond the launch event, Women’s CoLab offers a library of resources and peer-to-peer support on WeAreWomensCoLab.com, available for free to any user. Powered by Degreed, the site provides hyper-relevant development and training resources from industry experts such as Harvard Business, The Achieve Institute, The Female Quotient, The A Effect, Blue Circle Leadership, and Scary Mommy, to help women to remain, re-enter and thrive in the workforce.

Additional content such as guest essays, live Q&As, workshops and career insights from leading women will be added regularly to cover the most pressing issues impacting women today. Women’s CoLab also focuses on building a community of women, with interactive forums allowing for open conversation and support between members and participants.

Curated content topics include personal brand building, networking tips and tricks, work-life wellness, how to redefine your career and content specific for working mothers.

“We need women in the workforce. We need their diverse perspectives and backgrounds, at all levels and across all industries, and we can’t pursue real, lasting equality if we ask women to choose between having a career or managing their life,” said Manon Brouillette, Chief Operating Officer and Deputy CEO, Verizon Consumer. “A recent survey we commissioned found that close to 60 percent of women who want to re-enter the workforce can’t afford the training to remain competitive. This is exacerbated by the fact that 72% of women are concerned about the difficulty of finding a job that matches their existing skillset. This is precisely the reason why I believe Women’s CoLab can play an important role in helping women advance and succeed.”

For more information about Women’s CoLab, the live event or related resources, visit the new WeAreWomensCoLab.com website and join the community on LinkedIn, Twitter and Instagram.

Verizon Communications Inc. (NYSE, Nasdaq: VZ) was formed on June 30, 2000 and is one of the world’s leading providers of technology, communications, information and entertainment products and services. Headquartered in New York City and with a presence around the world, Verizon generated revenues of $128.3 billion in 2020. The company offers data, video and voice services and solutions on its award-winning networks and platforms, delivering on customers’ demand for mobility, reliable network connectivity, security and control.

VERIZON’S ONLINE MEDIA CENTER: News releases, stories, media contacts and other resources are available at verizon.com/news. News releases are also available through an RSS feed. To subscribe, visit www.verizon.com/about/rss-feeds/.

Media contact:Rebecca [e-mail][phone]