Events & Awards

WJA Foundation to Offer Tech Scholarships for Women of Color

Events & AwardsJun 17, 2022

WJA Foundation to Offer Tech Scholarships for Women of Color

The recipient will receive up to $17,500 toward a tech-focused certification or program of their choice.

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The Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation, with financial support from Jewelers Mutual Group and the Black in Jewelry Coalition, has launched a new scholarship to support women of color in the jewelry technology field.
New York—The Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation has launched a new scholarship to support one woman of color’s pursuit of tech-related jobs within the jewelry industry.
 
The Radiant Minds Technology Scholarship will award one recipient up to $17,500 to pay for a training or certification program focused on software engineering at the school of their choice, to be approved by the scholarship committee.
 
Jewelers Mutual Group and the Black in Jewelry Coalition have provided financial support for the scholarship.
 
Leaders from Jewelers Mutual Group will also mentor and guide the recipient.
 
“I am thrilled to partner with our friends at Jewelers Mutual and Black in Jewelry Coalition as we share the common goal of strengthening the jewelry industry’s talent pool,” said Brandee Dallow, president of the Women’s Jewelry Association Foundation.
 
“There simply aren’t enough skilled professionals to satisfy the technological needs of companies within the jewelry industry today and in the future, and we are doing our job to prepare our industry to be successful.”
 
 Related stories will be right here … 
 
The scholarship is available to women of color, inside and outside of the jewelry industry.
 
Interested individuals can apply now through June 30 on the WJA website, with the winner set to be announced around August 15.
 
The scholarship is WJA’s latest initiative to support diversity and inclusion in the jewelry industry. The organization announced in March it was partnering with the Gemological Institute of America to fund new diversity scholarships.
 
The WJA Foundation plans to award $25,000 in student scholarships to those in underrepresented communities, including BIPOC and LGBTQIA+ students.

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