Workshield announced a $4 million Series A round of venture capital for its app focused on reporting, investigating, and resolving harassment and discrimination in the workplace.
Pre-COVID-19, year over year sexual harassment claims in the workplace remained high through 2019. Discrimination claims made to the US EEOC since 2019 have shown little progress overall, and are discouraging when narrowed to complaints about race, sex, color, disability, and others. Studies have found that traditional training and grievance reporting systems are ineffective for issues like sexual harassment. This leaves employers and employees looking for new methods. Studies have shown that trust is waning in both our institutions and employers.
We expect to see more apps like Workshield emerge. We would caution employers that when it comes to issues like harassment and discrimination, they should first consult with experts in the respective fields and consider systemic, organizational, and policy changes before “throwing technology” at a problem.
Source: Work Shield Secures $4 Million in Series A Financing, Led by Hoak & Co.