Venture:
Cohort Sistas, Inc.
Founder:
Ijeoma Kola ‘14GSAS ‘19GSAS PhD
Industry:
Education and edtech
Venture Type:
Nonprofit
What is the social or environmental issue being addressed?
Black women are not only grossly underrepresented in higher education, but they also have worse financial, professional, and socio-emotional outcomes than other ethnoracial groups with doctoral degrees, including longer time to degree, more graduate debt, and increased feelings of loneliness, lack of community, and lack of mentorship. To support diversity, equity, and inclusion recruitment and retainment, and climate efforts in higher education, industry, and beyond, we believe that Black women and non-binary people should have access to the same resources, mentorship, and community that their non-Black counterparts have while navigating the doctoral education process.
Innovation:
We are the first digital community that supports the entire lifecycle and holistic well-being of Black women and non-binary people pursuing research-based doctoral degrees. Institutional-based efforts to support Black doctoral students are often limited in their scope and impact due to small numbers. The Cohort Sistas mobile app, community platform, and programming bridges institutional and geographic divides to easily connect, educate, mentor, and equip scholars at scale as they prepare to apply for and navigate through doctoral programs and beyond, strengthening the pipeline of Black women and non-binary leaders in academic, corporate, nonprofit, and government spaces
Read More:
- Goldman Sachs One Million Black Women Announces 50 Recipients of Black Women Impact Grants to Scale Black Women-Led Nonprofits
Goldman Sachs
June 15, 2022 - Cohort Sistas 3.1% Campaign Celebrates Black Women With Doctoral Degrees
The Grio
March 25, 2021