“As an entrepreneur, if I experience harassment or discrimination, where do I report it and how will I be protected?”

This question emerged at a founders dinner a few months ago. None of us had a good answer, so, true to form, we started brainstorming. We asked our friends in VC if their firms had external policies and/or a reporting channel.

In opening the conversation, we learned that the issue was already top of mind for many VCs. But it was hard to see what individual firms were doing from the outside. So #MovingForward was born.

#MovingForward gathers VC commitments to foster a diverse, inclusive, and harassment-free workplace.

Specifically, our supporters have provided:

Of note: Oftentimes the discussion of and efforts to address harassment and discrimination have focused narrowly on sexual harassment and gender discrimination. We strongly believe that we need comprehensively and intersectionally inclusive workplaces and policies that consider not just gender but also race, age, sexuality, disability status, family status, immigration status, and many other dimensions of identity and experience.

This directory is open-source. Any firm can add and update their policies and point(s)-of-contact, and we hope that every major venture firm will participate. We value progress over perfection.

Join #MovingForward

VCs #MovingForward

We’ve taken action towards creating more diverse and inclusive workplaces by making our discrimination & harassment policies and reporting contacts available to the public.

VCs #MovingForward - Private Documents

We’ve taken action by making reporting contacts available and by creating a policy, but #MovingForward cannot confirm that a copy of the policy will be available digitally upon request.

VC Pledges

We pledge to share our statement, external policy, and point(s)-of-contact with #MovingForward in the next 30 days.

Continue to share your progress

Join #MovingForward

Not sure where to start? Check out our resources.

Why #MovingForward

But really, why are you doing this?

A small group of entrepreneurs came together with three goals:

  1. Launch a public, collective step forward for the venture industry. We aim to highlight each firm’s approach and commitment so that we can learn and move together. Crafting external anti-discrimination and anti-harassment policies is just a first step––there’s much more do to, and a number of organizations are launching initiatives to catalyze real change.

  2. Facilitate transparent reporting channels and information routes. Entrepreneurs facing harassment or discrimination are often unsure where to go to report. It can feel like going public is the only choice, and as such, our community faces a large issue of under-reporting. One way firms can address this need is by providing formal point(s)-of-contact for entrepreneurs. Some VCs are working with third-party HR consulting groups to nail down the proper templates/policies or reporting channels for raising concerns. We also support having internal point(s)-of-contact contact who can answer questions about the firm’s policy and provide further information if need be.

  3. Provide a universal, open-source, and evolving wiki for continuous updates. As policies and supporting strategies evolve and the industry continues to iterate, we want to provide an open forum for any firm to self-report their efforts. We’ve hosting this directory on GitHub.

Resources

For those thinking: “We don’t have anything yet, where do we start?”

Templates and example policies:

Organizations, consultants, and tools:

Press

CNN - “She spoke out about harassment in tech. Now, she’s helping VCs ‘move forward’” (March 8, 2018)

Recode - “Some venture capital firms are publicizing their sexual harassment policies for the first time” (March 8, 2018)

Pando - “Beyond #MeToo: A new initiative #MovingForward seeks to hold a newly shaken Silicon Valley accountable” (March 8, 2018)

Bloomberg - “Next Steps for #MovingForward and #MeToo” (March 22, 2018)

Institutional Investor - “Venture Capital Has a ‘MeToo’ Problem. Have Investors Been Ignoring It?” (March 26, 2018)

From Our Supporters

This open-source directory was built in collaboration with the VCs listed above and …

Thank you to all of the entrepreneurs, VCs, and larger community for sparking positive change in our industry. 2017 was a period of sharing, listening, and processing. 2018 is the time for action and #MovingForward.