Chicago-based startup The Mom Project raises $25M Series B funding to help businesses attract and retain female talent

The Mom Project, a digital talent marketplace and a career destination for moms, today announced it has closed $25 million Series B funding to help women remain active in the workforce and also help businesses attract and retain female talent. The round, which brings the company’s total funding to $36 million, was led by growth investment firm 7GC today. Additional participants include Citi, Synchrony, High Alpha, and Silicon Valley Bank, alongside existing investors Initialized Capital, Grotech Ventures, OCA Ventures, Aspect Ventures, and others.

Founded in 2016 by Allison Robinson and Gregory Robinson, Chicago-based startup features a community of more than 275,000 talented professionals and more than 2,000 companies. The startup previously raised $8 million in Series A funding in 2018. Tennis icon and proud mom advocate Serena Williams joined as a strategic advisor in early 2020 to further mobilize the mission.

The fresh funding proceeds will also be used to connect millions of moms with small businesses and family-forward leading brands such as Apple, Nike, Gap Inc., Invesco, and BP — especially as businesses and employees adapt to the future of working remotely amid the coronavirus pandemic. The funding will also be used to expand its enterprise product offerings, deepen channel partnerships, and introduce new ways to support women throughout their motherhood journey beyond their job search.

Women and minorities have disproportionately been affected by the coronavirus pandemic, not only in the affected job types and industries, but also in the increased demands as primary caretakers at home. Approximately 60% of jobs eliminated in the first wave of pandemic-induced layoffs were held by women, with women of color making up a disproportionate share of some of the hardest-hit industries.

“We’re in a unique moment in time where companies are embracing flexible work and prioritizing inclusion, and the moment is right to rapidly accelerate our efforts to unlock the potential of moms in the workplace,” said Allison Robinson, Founder & CEO of The Mom Project. “We’ve proven to our customers that hiring and retaining moms isn’t just a nice thing to do. It’s good business, and we’re empowered by the scale of impact we can achieve with this round of funding.”

“We’re thrilled to partner with Allison and lead the Series B for The Mom Project,” said Jack Leeney, founding partner at 7GC. “There is an obvious disconnect between Fortune 500 companies seeking to leverage flexible or remote talent and female executives with growing families in the U.S. We view The Mom Project as the next leading global HR platform to power the reintroduction of those highly skilled female executives to the world’s top employers.”

WerkLabs, The Mom Project’s data and insights division founded after the acquisition of Werk in 2020, reports that women are twice as likely than their male counterparts to leave their employer in a year’s time due to their workplace experience during the coronavirus pandemic. Of the approximately 2,000 professionals surveyed, more than one-third (38%) reported both their work and well-being have been negatively impacted by the coronavirus pandemic.

To expedite support to both jobseekers and businesses, The Mom Project recently launched The Stronger Together Fund, Resume Rev, and Unity Program among other strategic initiatives.

“The COVID-19 pandemic is requiring us as a society to rethink old ways of working,” said Ed Skyler, Head of Global Public Affairs at Citi. “The Mom Project is at the forefront of that thinking with distinct, but established approaches for what’s possible.”