So here we are again. Something sexist has happened involving Uber.
At a board meeting June 13, board member David Bonderman made a tasteless joke about women. Arianna Huffington — the first woman to join Uber’s board — spoke about the recent addition of Wan Lang Martello. Martello, a former CFO of Nestle, will be the second woman on the board.
“There’s a lot of data that shows when there’s one woman on the board, it’s much more likely that there will be a second woman on the board,” Huffington said.
Bonderman interrupted with, “Actually what it shows is it’s much more likely to be more talking.”
There’s no time this comment is appropriate. Being a woman doesn’t mean one would be more prone to talking. It’s also so appalling Bonderman would direct this comment to two women so successful, that it makes my head spin. There’s also the fact Bonderman thinks he can interrupt.
Interruptions are, most of the time, incredibly rude, especially when men think what they have to say is more important.
Tuesday’s meeting, ironically, was a forum to share the findings of a workplace culture investigation, conducted by former Attorney General Eric Holder. He was hired after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler detailed a long history of sexism, harassment and an overall hostile work environment with the ridesharing company.
Given the events of the past few months, I’m not surprised a board member would make such a comment. Bonderman resigned almost immediately after news broke of the comment.
In early June, the company fired 20 people after an investigation was conducted by the law firm Covington & Burling. Senior executive Emil Michael announced June 12 he will be leaving the company, after reports said board members encouraged him to resign. Michael was Kalanick’s No. 2, and participated in many of the questionable behaviors that could have contributed to the creation of a hostile work environment at Uber.
The firm outlined a number of ways Uber can lower the toxicity of the workplace. This list includes hiring a chief diversity officer, changing the way performance reviews are completed and reducing CEO Travis Kalanick’s duties.
As all this came out, Kalanick announced he will take a leave of absence from the company after losing his mom to a boating accident in May. While he should certainly take some time to be with family, he should also be thinking about the kind of company he wants to run and the legacy he wants to leave behind.
During his leave, four senior human resources staffers have been hired, in addition to a vice president of human resources who starts June 21.
Comments like Bonderman’s speak to a larger cultural problem that will be very hard to change. Such casual, offhand remarks are hard to stand up to, and their common jokiness makes them seem harmless — but they’re not. Comments like that make women feel alienated, especially when it happens to women who are the only female in a board room.
It is beyond time that consumers start holding companies accountable for reprehensible behavior like this.
Delete Uber. Use Lyft. Carpool with a friend. Anything is better than continuing to support a company that treats women — half the population — like second-class citizens. Clearly, a report from a former attorney general isn’t going to change anything.
Tess Fox can be reached at [email protected] or on Twitter @tesstakesphotos