GoDaddy Employee Advocates for the Future of Technology’s Enablement of Black Success

NORTHAMPTON, MA / ACCESSWIRE / February 27, 2023 / GoDaddy holds itself to a high standard of stewardship in areas where it can have the greatest impact and influence, from building a more inclusive workplace culture to engaging with and empowering its customers regardless of age, race, gender, location or socioeconomic background.

Learning Program Manager, Desmond Sweet, in his almost four years at GoDaddy, is committed to GoDaddy's mission of empowering entrepreneurs everywhere, making opportunity more inclusive for all. This means spending his days welcoming new employees to GoDaddy, developing leaders, and fostering more collaborative teams. Desmond is also dedicated to educating, inspiring and celebrating the Black in Technology community within and outside of GoDaddy as president of the GDBIT (GoDaddy Black in Tech) employee resource group.

February is Black History Month, a time for reflecting on the past while focusing on the future and particularly, the role everyone can play in creating equitable opportunities for all. Importantly, this includes considering how people might empower not only their own lives, but also honor a communities' collective lived experiences and build opportunities for success.

In recognition of Black History Month, GDBIT hosted GoDaddy customer Malik Muhammad, founder of Malik Books - an African American bookstore that specializes in books full of cultural diversity - to discuss the power of education, knowledge, representation, resiliency, entrepreneurship and empowerment. Desmond facilitated the event and shared his reactions.

"What makes Malik Books different? Malik would tell you that one of his differentiators is the fact that he is a bookstore that only sells books by Black authors and with Black characters," said Desmond. "But after talking with Malik the other day, what makes Malik different, in my opinion, is Malik. He is full of energy, excitement and anticipation of what a good book can do for someone in their future."

When it comes to impacting someone's future, Desmond knows firsthand how access to resources can change an entrepreneur's life. As a volunteer for Empower by GoDaddy - the company's signature social impact program that supports entrepreneurs in underserved communities - Desmond became one of the first employees to pilot You Empower, a 12-week, skills-based, full-time employee volunteer assignment where employees are paired with Empower by GoDaddy nonprofit and community partners. The goal of the pilot was to provide GoDaddy employees with an enriching professional-development experience while delivering much-needed additional digital support and training to underserved Empower by GoDaddy microbusinesses.