Barack Obama's former attorney general Eric Holder is going to lead an investigation into the ride-sharing company Uber over allegations of sexism.
The ride-sharing company has hired Holder to lead an independent investigation after a former employee described allegations of sexual harassment and sexism at the company.
Susan Fowler Rigetti, a former engineer for Uber, wrote a blog post about her time at the company. In her blog post, she described situations where she experienced sexual harassment. One situation she wrote about alleges that her manager tried to get her to have sex with him after he described his open marriage.
These allegations led Uber to set up an independent investigation into the situation. Holder will lead the investigation alongside his law firm partner Tammy Albarran. Uber board member Arianna Huffington will also join the investigation.
This incident is the latest in a string of controversies for Uber. Earlier this year, Uber was a target of a boycott after the company continued to provide service to airports in the wake of Trump's executive order on immigration. Activists led with a hashtag #DeleteUber which prompted a response from the company. The company pledged $3 million to drivers affected by Trump's executive order and Uber CEO Travis Kalanick resigned from Trump's economic advisory council.
Since Fowler's post went viral, Kalanick responded with an e-mail to all Uber employees. BuzzFeed has obtained a copy of the e-mail below:
Team,
It’s been a tough 24 hours. I know the company is hurting, and understand everyone has been waiting for more information on where things stand and what actions we are going to take.
First, Eric Holder, former US Attorney General under President Obama, and Tammy Albarran — both partners at the leading law firm Covington & Burling— will conduct an independent review into the specific issues relating to the work place environment raised by Susan Fowler, as well as diversity and inclusion at Uber more broadly. Joining them will be Arianna Huffington, who sits on Uber’s board, Liane Hornsey, our recently hired Chief Human Resources Officer, and Angela Padilla, our Associate General Counsel. I expect them to conduct this review in short order.
Second, Arianna is flying out to join me and Liane at our all hands meeting tomorrow to discuss what’s happened and next steps. Arianna and Liane will also be doing smaller group and one-on-one listening sessions to get your feedback directly.
Third, there have been many questions about the gender diversity of Uber’s technology teams. If you look across our engineering, product management, and scientist roles, 15.1% of employees are women and this has not changed substantively in the last year. As points of reference, Facebook is at 17%, Google at 18% and Twitter is at 10%. Liane and I will be working to publish a broader diversity report for the company in the coming months.
I believe in creating a workplace where a deep sense of justice underpins everything we do. Every Uber employee should be proud of the culture we have and what we will build together over time. What is driving me through all this is a determination that we take what’s happened as an opportunity to heal wounds of the past and set a new standard for justice in the workplace. It is my number one priority that we come through this a better organization, where we live our values and fight for and support those who experience injustice.
Thanks,
Travis