Can Uber solve its women problem?
Uber, the well-heeled, rapidly growing transportation startup, already has ticked off a lot of people in its five-year existence, including the taxi industry, journalists, and even its own drivers and passengers. Some of the most troubling criticism, however, has stemmed from its treatment of women 鈥� from failures to protect female passengers from harassment and assault all the way up to charges of misogyny in its corporate ranks. Any discussion of Uber鈥檚 girl problem has to start with the question: 鈥淲hich one?鈥�
Tuesday, Uber made a step to reform that image, announcing that it would team up with UN Women, a gender equality initiative, to create 1 million jobs for women worldwide over the next five years. 鈥淯N Women and Uber are launching a partnership to work together around the world toward a shared vision of equality and women鈥檚 empowerment,鈥� Uber CEO Travis Kalanick and UN Women director Phumzile Mlambo-Ngcuka said in a joint statement on the company鈥檚 . 鈥淭his important mission can only be accomplished when all women have direct access to safe and equitable earning opportunities."
In the United States, women make up 14 percent of Uber鈥檚 160,000 drivers, according to the company. The UN Women partnership would focus in on the countries where the organizations overlap 鈥� UN Women operates in 48 countries, Uber in 55.聽 Some of those include developing countries where it is still difficult, and even potentially dangerous, for women to have jobs as drivers. Salle Yoo, Uber鈥檚 general counsel, will address the United Nations Tuesday evening flanked by Esther Wanjiru Kirigwi, the first female Uber driver in Nairobi.聽
Uber-related safety mishaps, however, are not limited to women in such places. In the US, as female Uber drivers in the US have faced harassment from passengers who have located them using the Uber app鈥檚 鈥淟ost and Found鈥� feature. The company has faced complaints of sexual assault by Uber drivers in Boston, San Francisco, and other cities; in December, an Uber driver in New Delhi was charged with kidnapping and raping a passenger, prompting a temporary ban in that city.聽
Uber has made changes in response, like introducing a 鈥減anic鈥� button in India and posting safety instructions on its app in the US. But in addition to on-the-ground safety concerns, a few misogynistic gaffes by Uber鈥檚 top executives, plus painting the startup鈥檚 Silicon Valley home as an unrepentant boys鈥� club, have raised a lot of eyebrows about the company鈥檚 attitudes toward women.
Last year, Mr. Kalanick drew fire for calling his company 鈥淏oob-er鈥� in a GQ profile, referencing what a boon Uber鈥檚 success has been for his sex life. In October, the company apologized for a 鈥渉ot chick鈥� promotion from one of its offices in France that paired passengers with attractive female drivers, complete with the tagline, 鈥淲ho said women don鈥檛 know how to drive?鈥�
Incidents like those, combined with even after an announced of its policies, have helped paint Uber as a company that either doesn鈥檛 get it or doesn鈥檛 really care. In perhaps the most damning indictment of the company yet, the New Delhi rape victim has publicly accused Uber of only making 鈥渃osmetic鈥� changes that made women no safer, and refusing to meet with her and her lawyers to discuss safety reforms. "Until women can legitimately feel safe, we cannot obtain equality,鈥� said the woman, who has been identified only as an executive in Delhi, in a statement released on National Women鈥檚 Day. 鈥淪adly, Uber doesn't understand this."
As part of the UN Women partnership, Uber says it will work directly with its female drivers to fit its safety measures to each country鈥檚 needs. It has also made Ms. Yoo, the company鈥檚 top female executive, the face of the initiative. But it will take a lot more to satisfy the company鈥檚 critics and earn a label as a female-friendly company.
