Uber has released its first-ever diversity report, outlining a number of ways it vows to improve its culture and diversity.

Sarah Thomas, Director, Women in Comms

March 28, 2017

3 Min Read
Uber Employs 15% Women in Tech Roles

Women make up 15.4% of the technical positions at Uber, 22% of leadership positions and 36.1% of the overall workforce, according to the ride-hailing company's first-ever diversity report, issued Tuesday after weeks of scandal and bad press.

The split puts it behind many of the other tech companies, but not drastically so. For example, in tech roles, Facebook employs 17% women, Google (Nasdaq: GOOG) employs 19% women and Apple Inc. (Nasdaq: AAPL) employs 23% women. But, women make up only 32% of the overall workforce at both Apple and Facebook, less than Uber's 36%.

In releasing the diversity report, which CEO Travis Kalanick promised to do after former Uber engineer Susan Fowler wrote a scathing blog post about rampant sexism in the company, Uber vowed to make improving these numbers a priority. (See Uber's HR Nightmare: Company Investigates Sexual Harassment Claims.)

Women in Comms' biggest event of 2017 is coming up on Monday, May 15, ahead of the Big Communications Event in Austin, Texas. Register here to join us for a networking luncheon with top-notch keynoters and panel discussions!

Uber has been undergoing an "internal investigation" of its culture led by former US Attorney General Eric Holder since Fowler's report of the company, detailing sexual harassment, institutionalized sexism and an HR department that refused to do anything about it. Since her takedown, more engineers have come forward with similar reports of a toxic work environment, and Kalanick especially has been under fire for creating and encouraging such a culture. (See Culture in Crisis: What's Next for Uber & Tech?, Uber Engineering SVP Out as Probe Continues and Uber & Out.)

Today's diversity report outlined a few ways Uber says it has or will begin to improve, including:

  • Hired a Chief Human Resources Officer and Global Head of Diversity and Inclusion

  • Hired 41% women last year

  • Investing $3 million over the next three years to support organizations that bring more women and underrepresented people into tech

  • Going on a college tour for recruitment, including to a number of Historically Black Colleges and Universities (HBCUs) and Hispanic Serving Institutions (HSIs)

  • Diversifying interview panels

  • Enhancing benefits to make Uber more welcoming to parents

  • Educating its workforce on "actionable, inclusive behaviors" in hiring and work life

  • Updated job descriptions to remove potentially exclusionary language

  • Running interview training to make hiring processes more inclusive for women

  • Introducing gender and diversity training for employees

Uber stopped short of setting any diversity hiring targets, however. The report also accounts for other forms of diversity including race, religion, sexual orientation, veteran status and employees on work visas. You can view the complete report here.

Releasing a diversity report was a necessary step in improving Uber's image. Fowler's account of life at the tech company, and the subsequent fall-out, has cast a huge spotlight on the problem of gender discrimination across the Valley. Uber, in a lot of ways, is the archetype for all that is wrong with the tech industry when it comes to its treatment of women. Few women in tech were surprised by Fowler's post, and there has since been a mix of sentiments that this will be the last straw that finally sparks change and skepticism that things will ever change. (See Silicon Valley Writer Foresees End of Bro Culture.)

Right now Uber is talking a big game, but it remains to be seen if it can deliver on all of its promises and transform what is a deeply engrained company culture at the eight-year-old company. At the least, transparency in the form of diversity reports like the one it released today is a good start.

— Sarah Thomas, Circle me on Google+ Follow me on TwitterVisit my LinkedIn profile, Director, Women in Comms

About the Author(s)

Sarah Thomas

Director, Women in Comms

Sarah Thomas's love affair with communications began in 2003 when she bought her first cellphone, a pink RAZR, which she duly "bedazzled" with the help of superglue and her dad.

She joined the editorial staff at Light Reading in 2010 and has been covering mobile technologies ever since. Sarah got her start covering telecom in 2007 at Telephony, later Connected Planet, may it rest in peace. Her non-telecom work experience includes a brief foray into public relations at Fleishman-Hillard (her cussin' upset the clients) and a hodge-podge of internships, including spells at Ingram's (Kansas City's business magazine), American Spa magazine (where she was Chief Hot-Tub Correspondent), and the tweens' quiz bible, QuizFest, in NYC.

As Editorial Operations Director, a role she took on in January 2015, Sarah is responsible for the day-to-day management of the non-news content elements on Light Reading.

Sarah received her Bachelor's in Journalism from the University of Missouri-Columbia. She lives in Chicago with her 3DTV, her iPad and a drawer full of smartphone cords.

Away from the world of telecom journalism, Sarah likes to dabble in monster truck racing, becoming part of Team Bigfoot in 2009.

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