Embattled Uber pledges to clean up sexist culture
Company to share first diversity report as it faces controversy
Three women in Uber’s top ranks did their best Tuesday to deliver a message that executives were not only determined to rid the embattled company of sexist rot, but also remake the ride-hailing giant into a beacon of diversity and inclusion.
“Our goal isn’t just to fix things, but to make Uber the most admired workplace,” Uber board member Arianna Huffington told reporters on a call that also included human resources boss Liane Hornsey and North American operations chief Rachel Holt.
Uber has long resisted releas- ing statistics about the diversity of its staff, but Huffington said the first such report will be released by the end of the month.
Huffington added that Uber’s ongoing internal probe looking into ex-engineer Susan Fowler’s accusations of discrimination against female employees will be made public when it concludes in late April. The probe is relying in part on tip-lines where employees can relate their tales anonymously, she said.
Hornsey said that she has been consulting often with Uber investors and diversity advocates Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein. “They’re the experts in this area,” she said.
The Kapors wrote a scathing open letter to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick after Fowler went public with her experiences at Uber, calling the culture “toxic” and noting in particular that
Kalanick never showed any interest to them in diversity issues.
Hornsey said Uber will begin requiring diversity training for employees. “The cult of the individual will not ever be more important than the team,” she said.
Kalanick has faced criticism from some of his 11,000 employees and vowed at one staff meeting to “grow up” and seek leadership help. Uber is currently on the hunt for a chief operating officer who would be “a partner to Travis,” Huffington said.
The women did not get specific on the status of the COO search, saying only that the company was attracting “world-class leaders” and that investor Bill Gurley was helping oversee the hunt along with search firm Heidrick & Struggles.
Whether Uber’s so-called “baller” culture that valued extreme aggressiveness in pursuing the company’s disruptive goals can be replaced with a collaborative feelgood culture remains to be seen.
Executives said Kalanick is a new man after the scandals.
“I’ve only been here 11 weeks, but almost week by week I have seem him changing,” Hornsey said. “What’s happened (at Uber) has caused personal change. I think Travis will be hugely collaborative going forward.” CONTINUED FROM 1B