Luanna Luna, education manager at iFood, talks about how initiatives in this area can make a difference in social inclusion
Education is a powerful tool for social inclusion, and progress in this field can make a difference in overcoming historical inequalities and building a more prosperous and less unequal country. But, to get there, it is necessary to overcome challenges such as improving the quality of teaching and encouraging more people to enter the field of technology.
In an interview with iFood News, Luanna Luna, education manager at iFood, explains why it is important for companies to participate in this transformation of Brazilian education and talks about iFood's initiatives in this area.
iFN: How important is education for social inclusion?
Luanna: When we talk about inclusion, we see that from school age to entering the job market, all the statistics are worse when we look at women and people of color.
At the school level, for example, about 69 million Brazilians over the age of 19 did not complete high school. Of these, 88% are black and brown. In the job market, in 32% of the technology areas in companies there are no black people, and in 21% of the cases there is no woman.
All of this happens today as a result of historical issues. To change this scenario, companies need to intentionally bring educational opportunities to the most vulnerable people, those who are least included in society and whose profiles are currently underrepresented in companies. After all, it is education that will promote transformation towards greater social inclusion.
iFN: Why iFood has invested in stocks like My High School Diploma?
Luanna: A iFood education strategy looks at two important audiences. One of them is low-income people and underrepresented profiles in society. For them, our objective is to provide opportunities for access to education with a view to increasing their income. We do this by offering technology scholarships that allow entry into the job market in the area. Our objective on this front is to train and employ 25 thousand people.
The second audience is the iFood ecosystem: delivery men and women, restaurants and markets. We want to support them from basic education to their workdays with iFood and also work on other aspects beyond delivery, opening new doors and providing choices for those who wish to follow other paths.
My High School Diploma is one of these basic initiatives, which facilitates access for those who want to resume their studies, as it provides a scholarship for the preparatory course to take the exam and obtain the diploma. It was an action that came about after we identified that 27% of the delivery men and women had not completed basic education. Right now, iFood is offering over 700 scholarships in this program.
iFN: What is the role of companies in efforts to improve education in Brazil?
Luanna: The role of companies in private social investment to improve education is extremely relevant to promote projects, initiatives and materials that, after being tested and having their impacts proven, will be implemented by governments.
Companies have the role of accelerating the development of good initiatives to promote education. In Brazil, private investment in education is huge, exceeding R$ 1 billion. But there are still challenges, such as better coordinating our efforts so that resources are well allocated so that changes can actually happen.
O All for Education is one of iFood's partners who has this profile and does very relevant work influencing public policies to improve public basic education.
iFN: In what actions does iFood support Todos pela Educação and why?
Luanna: iFood, as a large company, can impact the lives of many people, but we don't have know how to change education in Brazil without forming partnerships. Therefore, we chose to form partnerships with organizations that have been working in the education field for a long time.
Todos pela Educação is an institution that today works to influence public policies in favor of improving Brazilian basic public education. iFood decided to become one of the supporters of this institution to bring about these changes in a more structured way. We have already seen progress in recent years, but we want to go even further. And anyone who wants can help us making donations to Todos Pela Educação on the iFood app.
