The idea for Bumpd came after several people in Daniel’s network were sacked or made redundant after falling pregnant or during parental leave.
Researching this problem further, he discovered that 49% of mothers have experienced workplace discrimination relating to pregnancy, parental leave or returning to work, and a staggering 18% have lost their job.*
Bumpd’s first product was a free legal automation tool. People who had lost their job in these circumstances could answer a few simple questions online, and receive an automatically-generated legal claim tailored to their situation. Our theory was that by improving access to justice, people could better enforce their legal rights and ultimately change workplace attitudes.
What we found however was that by the time people had lost their job, it was too late. Even with free legal support, the significant effort, stress and reputational risk of pursuing legal action usually wasn’t worth it.
Drawing upon these learnings, we spoke again with dozens of employees and employers, focussing on how we might prevent pregnancy and parenting-related workplace discrimination arising in the first place. As part of this, we uncovered a key insight: workers are having children all the time – why is there so much anxiety, confusion and uncertainty?
By tackling this issue through sharing real stories and experiences from our community, we aim to help expecting parents feel more confident and knowledgeable about their situation at work, and preserve strong, healthy relationships between employers and employees.
*Data/statistical source: Australian Human Rights Commission, Supporting Working Parents: Pregnancy and Return to Work National Review – Report, 2014
Team
Daniel Yim
Daniel is an award winning lawyer and legal innovation specialist. He is the founder of legaltech startup Sideline, and also teaches legal design thinking. He previously worked in the project finance and legal transformation teams at Gilbert + Tobin, as well as at Axiom where he was seconded to the in-house legal departments of GlaxoSmithKline and GE Capital. He lives in Melbourne and has a three year old son.
Erin Kanygin
Erin brings experience in automation and legal design and currently spends her days working as a Legal Transformation Lawyer at Gilbert + Tobin.
Erin has a passion for community as well as social justice, and has done a considerable amount of volunteer work for NGOs and community legal centres. Erin is currently sitting on the board of Arts Access Victoria, a disability-led arts organisation at the forefront of innovative disability arts practice, access and inclusion. She completed the Juris Doctor at the University of Melbourne in 2019.
Sara Lemley
Sara is a lawyer at Corrs Chambers Westgarth with a strong interest in the issues that lie at the intersection between technology and the law. Prior to beginning her studies in law, Sara lived and worked in Seattle as a digital marketer for various technology organisations, from startups to enterprise-level companies.
Sara is excited to be part of the Bumpd team as she is particularly passionate about advocating for women in the workplace, and is keen to contribute to meaningful, interdisciplinary projects like Bumpd by drawing on the experiences and skills she has gained over her career.
Eleanor Twomey
Eleanor is a passionate advocate for creative solutions to social issues. She is currently studying a Juris Doctor at the University of Melbourne and has developed an interest in leveraging legal technology to improve access to the legal system. She believes in the importance of organisations such as Bumpd that enable people to pursue justice without facing exorbitant legal costs.
Prior to commencing her studies, Eleanor gained experience in the not-for-profit sector in leadership and fundraising roles. This included leading a team of young people working to create conversations about socialised gender roles and stereotypes as Executive Officer of Chalk Circle, the Gender Literacy Foundation.
Bumpd is grateful for the support of several other people not listed above but who are playing a critical part in delivering this project.