Uber has released its first ever diversity report. The way the company was clamping shut on the numbers, you would have thought that the company consisted of all white, male workers. However, the real numbers are out and surprisingly, the company actually has a better percentage of females and people of races other than white at the organization. The company came out with its numbers today and we were somewhat surprised at the representation women and people of other races received in its employee base.
Speaking on the topic, Uber Chief Human Resources Officer Liane Hornsey said:
It’s no secret that we’re late to release these numbers. And I’d like to thank our employees for their tenacity in arguing the case for greater transparency — because what you don’t measure, you can’t improve.
So, Uber consists of 36.1 percent female and 63.9 percent male employees. In tech roles however, women comprise merely 15.4 percent of the employee base. To compare, both Facebook and Google have around 32 percent female employees at their respective offices. Companies like Pinterest (40+ percent) show that the cab aggregator still has room to grow.
On a racial basis, Uber has 49.8 percent whites. In comparison, the company has 8.8 percent black, 5.6 percent Latinx and 4.3 percent members of two or more races in the U.S. However, the members of these races are underrepresented in technical roles, where it drops down to 1 percent, 2.1 percent and 2.4 percent, respectively.
In comparison (via TechCrunch) Facebook has 2 percent blacks, 4 percent Latinx and 3 percent two or more races. Similarly, Apple consisted of 9 percent blacks, 12 percent Latinx, 2 percent multiracial employees.
At the higher, leadership positions, 22 percent of Uber employees are women while 2.3 percent are black and 0.8 percent Latinx. Quite unsurprisingly, 76.7 percent members are white.
Commenting on the report, Uber CEO Travis Kalanick said:
This report is a first step in showing that diversity and inclusion is a priority at Uber. I know that we have been too slow in publishing our numbers — and that the best way to demonstrate our commitment to change is through transparency. And to make progress, it’s important we measure what matters.
The company has also committed a $3 million sum over the next three years. This sum will be used to offer support to organizations that focus on underrepresented minorities and women in tech. The company has not yet decided who exactly it will be supporting, but it said that employees will also get a heavy say in the matter. The company also committed to working with outside diversity agents so as to propagate inclusion at the workplace.
Well, it is surprising that it took a public scandal associated with the workplace culture at Uber for the company to go public with its numbers — specially since they weren’t quite as bad as everyone was expecting them to be. There is certainly room for improvement there however, companies like Facebook and Apple should also use Uber’s diversity report for motivation and to propel work towards a more inclusive workplace culture.
