A UK based tech-for-good company is celebrating International Women’s Day by giving free access to its AI chatbot trained on the UK Equality Act. Here’s what that means for women in the workplace…
What do you do at work if you are being sexually harassed? How can you find out your rights? Well, AI has come up with the goods.
Apparently, the new chatbot allows workers to easily find out if they have been victims of workplace sexual harassment, discrimination, racism and more.
Trained on the UK Equality Act, workers can ask questions like: ‘My boss keeps making lewd comments when I’m alone in his office. Is this sexual harassment?’
Trained on the UK Equality Act, workers can ask questions like: ‘My boss keeps making lewd comments when I’m alone in his office. Is this sexual harassment?’
Originally the chatbot was created to be part of the SaferSpace app, that employers licence to benefit their staff, but the app’s two female founders have decided to make the chatbot part of the app free for everyone to use.
“We keep reading stories about workplace misconduct, especially sexual harassment from all sectors and corners of the UK – from MacDonald’s to the military - it’s so prevalent.”
SaferSpace co-founder, Ruth Sparkes said: “We keep reading stories about workplace misconduct, especially sexual harassment from all sectors and corners of the UK – from MacDonald’s to the military - it’s so prevalent.”
The statistics make for sober reading:
- 58 per cent of women have experienced sexual harassment in the workplace. (Source: TUC)
- On campus, 68 per cent of students have suffered harassment. (Source: NUS)
- But… 79 per cent of victims don’t report it – that’s 8 out of 10 people! (Source: Fawcett Society)
Ruth explained: “These are shocking figures; we should all be appalled by them. There are various reasons why victims don’t report when they have suffered misconduct at work, but one of the main reasons is that victims are often unsure that what they’ve experienced actually constitutes a complaint – our chatbot can help answer their questions.” She added: “It’s time to break the silence.”
Sunita Gordon, SaferSpace’s other co-founder said: “What we’re trying to do is to promote a culture of safety and equality in the workplace. We believe that technology can and should be used for social good. By making our chatbot freely accessible, we hope to inspire positive change and support the movement towards greater inclusion across all sectors.”
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The chatbot is available to anyone with internet access, requiring no subscription or payment. Users simply need to click the ‘thumbs up’ chatbot icon on the SaferSpace website to start their enquiry.
Using tech for good is a refreshing aim, and as we celebrate International Women’s Day, making spaces safer for women is something we can get excited about, and jjoin them in their mission to promote worker protection, inclusion, and equality.
SaferSpace is a tech-for-good startup dedicated to using technology to create safer, more inclusive workplaces. With a focus on innovation and accessibility, SaferSpace aims to support individuals and organisations to report and manage unacceptable behaviour contributing to a culture of respect, equality, and inclusion.
For more information, visit https://saferspace.io.
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