TLDR:
- Venture capital investor Elaine Stead is leading an initiative to combat sexual harassment in Australia’s start-up sector.
- The resource, Addressing Sexism in Australian Tech & Investment, contains industry codes of conduct and reporting methods.
Venture capital investor Elaine Stead is spearheading a new resource aimed at addressing sexist harassment and discrimination in Australia’s start-up sector. The resource, titled Addressing Sexism in Australian Tech & Investment, is a collaboration of input from various technology executives, investors, and leaders in the industry. This initiative comes in light of recent incidents that have left the local industry in shock.
The document is designed to be a living resource and includes industry codes of conduct, reporting methods, and enforcement measures from organizations such as Blackbird, the Australian Investment Council, Southern Angels, and ANDHealth operations director Jenna Polson. It aims to tackle the issues of inappropriate behavior that have caused many women to either leave the start-up sector or avoid it altogether.
Elaine Stead, a former scientist and founder of Human Venture Capital, shared her own experiences of sexist harassment and bullying within the industry. She emphasized the importance of addressing these issues, especially in an industry that often lacks corporate infrastructure to handle such matters.
The initiative also highlights the need for diversity, equity, and inclusion specialists, as well as more VC investors, to contribute to the resource. The document will exist alongside other efforts in the industry, such as The Grapevine, a platform for victims to anonymously share stories.
Hannah Moreno, founder of Third Hemisphere, has also been heavily involved in creating the resource. She emphasized the importance of addressing inappropriate behavior in the start-up ecosystem and highlighted the different groups of people when it comes to social justice issues.
Overall, the initiative led by Elaine Stead and others in the industry aims to provide a tangible way for people to address and combat sexual harassment and discrimination in the start-up sector, creating a safer and more inclusive environment for all individuals involved.
