Uber to make diversity a 'priority': Kalanick
Travis Kalanick, CEO of troubled ride-hailing giant Uber, has promised to make diversity and inclusion a priority at the firm after a meeting with civil rights leader Jesse Jackson. The vow comes as Uber finds itself subject to a company-wide investigation into allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination. Jackson urged Kalanick to hire more women and minorities across all levels of the company, according to USA Today. Kalanick has now promised to release demographic data on Uber's workforce, which he had previously refused to make public. "Creating a more diverse and inclusive company is a top priority", said the CEO.
Jessica Guynn

USA TODAY

SAN FRANCISCO — Uber CEO Travis Kalanick vowed to make diversity and inclusion a top priority at his company in a sit down with civil rights leader Jesse Jackson.

The one-hour meeting in Jackson's office at the Rainbow PUSH Coalition headquarters in Chicago Thursday was part of the embattled ride-hailing company's campaign to repair its reputation following a series of troubling revelations about its corporate culture and business practices.

"It was a privilege to meet Rev. Jackson and I learned a tremendous amount from his insight," Kalanick said in a statement.

Kalanick reaffirmed Uber would release demographic data next week on its workforce that it had repeatedly refused to disclose publicly. A company-wide investigation into allegations of sexual harassment, discrimination and sexism being conducted by former U.S. Attorney General Eric Holder, is expected to conclude by the end of April and will also be made public.

"Creating a more diverse and inclusive company is a top priority and it starts with releasing our demographic data, which we will do very soon," Kalanick said in the statement.

In an interview with USA TODAY following the meeting, Jackson said he stressed the need for Uber to hire more women and underrepresented minorities at all levels of the company, from the board of directors and the executive team to rank-and-file workers.

In addition to demographic data, Kalanick said he wants to set goals for progress on diversity at Uber, according to Jackson. Jackson also pressed Kalanick to seek out and engage the services of women- and minority-owned businesses.

"We discussed a range of subjects," Jackson said, who characterized the conversation as "fruitful" and "positive." "We think in time they will be good trading partners."

Uber is reeling from a rough start to the year. A grassroots #DeleteUber campaign over the perception that Uber was trying to take advantage of immigration ban protests at JFK led to about a half million people requesting to delete their Uber accounts over the course of a week, according to the New York Times. Kalanick's participation on President Trump's economic advisory council again landed him in hot water.

Worse yet for the company's image were allegations of sexual harassment and discrimination leveled by a former engineer. Uber has also taken heat for a software tool called Greyball that the New York Times says was used to deliberately deceive law enforcement. After the report, Uber said it would stop using it to thwart regulators.

But it was a leaked video showing Kalanick arguing with an Uber driver that prompted him to publicly apologize and pledge to seek leadership assistance. Several executives, including president Jeff Jones, have since left the company.

The Uber board is searching for a chief operating officer to be a partner to Kalanick, Uber director Arianna Huffington said this week during a conference call with reporters.

"Change," she said, "starts at the top."

Kalanick's new position on diversity would certainly represent change, as it is a subject on which Kalanick has been reluctant to give ground.

Uber has not released its workforce demographics in response to requests by USA TODAY. Other major tech companies such as Google, Facebook and Apple have released those breakdowns.

In January, Jackson again called on Uber to release the data and gave Uber a deadline of mid-February.

Jackson's request came as Uber tapped Bernard C. Coleman III, chief diversity officer for Hillary Clinton's presidential campaign, to take charge of its diversity efforts.

"We appreciate the attention and focus Rev. Jackson brings to these issues and look forward to continuing our discussions with the Rainbow PUSH Coalition," the company said at the time.

According to a report this week in tech news outlet The Information, when asked by some of his 11,000 employees Kalanick has brushed off questions about diversity in hiring and whether Uber could share demographic data about its workforce.

Jackson has set his sights on Uber, which at nearly $70 billion, is the world's most richly valued private technology company and one of the most influential in the tech sector.

Diversity has taken on growing urgency in the tech industry, especially in its power center of Silicon Valley. Tech companies here, staffed mostly by white and Asian men, fear they will lose touch with the diverse nation — and world — that form their consumer base as demographics rapidly shift. At the same time, women and minorities are being shut out of one of the fastest-growing, highest-paying sectors of the American economy.



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