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| Uber Board Member Apologizes for Sexist Remark at Meeting About Company’s Culture | |
| (about 2 hours later) | |
| San Francisco — A member of Uber’s board of directors apologized for a sexist remark he made at a meeting with Uber employees on Tuesday, the latest embarrassing misstep for a company rocked by scandal and discord. | San Francisco — A member of Uber’s board of directors apologized for a sexist remark he made at a meeting with Uber employees on Tuesday, the latest embarrassing misstep for a company rocked by scandal and discord. |
| David Bonderman, the founding partner of the private equity firm TPG Capital, apologized in an email to Uber employees for his comments, which came in the middle of a companywide meeting at Uber’s San Francisco headquarters. The meeting was called to discuss the results of an investigation into Uber’s toxic culture, marked by allegations of sexism and harassment. | David Bonderman, the founding partner of the private equity firm TPG Capital, apologized in an email to Uber employees for his comments, which came in the middle of a companywide meeting at Uber’s San Francisco headquarters. The meeting was called to discuss the results of an investigation into Uber’s toxic culture, marked by allegations of sexism and harassment. |
| Mr. Bonderman’s comments came after Arianna Huffington, another independent board member at Uber, was in the midst of discussing the addition of a new female member to the company’s board of directors. | |
| “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,” Ms. Huffington said. | “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,” Ms. Huffington said. |
| “Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking,” Mr. Bonderman responded. | “Actually, what it shows is that it’s much more likely to be more talking,” Mr. Bonderman responded. |
| Mr. Bonderman’s remark left people aghast, according to attendees. | Mr. Bonderman’s remark left people aghast, according to attendees. |
| “I want to apologize to my fellow board member for a disrespectful comment that was directed at her during today’s discussion,” Mr. Bonderman said in the email. “It was inappropriate. I also want to apologize to all Uber employees who were offended by the remark. I deeply regret it.” | “I want to apologize to my fellow board member for a disrespectful comment that was directed at her during today’s discussion,” Mr. Bonderman said in the email. “It was inappropriate. I also want to apologize to all Uber employees who were offended by the remark. I deeply regret it.” |
| Mr. Bonderman’s original comments, according to experts, also lack merit. | |
| Tali Mendelberg, professor of politics at Princeton University, and her colleague Christopher Karpowitz, an associate professor of political science at Brigham Young University, conducted a study in 2012 concluding that men talked by far more than women at meetings. The professors convened 94 groups of five people and varied the number of men and women in the groups. And their study is in line multiple others drawing similar conclusions — men talk more than women, and men interrupt more than women. | |
| “The study shows that men will dominate the conversation if there are more men than women in the group, and they dominate by a lot,” Ms. Mendelberg said in an interview. “When you have just two women in the group, those women are much more silent than men are.” | |
| Tuesday’s episode was yet another black eye for the embattled ride-hailing company, which is struggling to change its internal culture and a public image largely perceived as aggressive, rule-breaking and misogynistic. An Uber spokesman declined to comment. | |
| Uber’s board of directors was composed entirely of men until 2016, when Ms. Huffington took a seat. Earlier this week, Uber said another woman had been added to the board: Wan Ling Martello, the executive vice president of Nestle in South Asia. | |
| But Ms. Mendelberg warned that it will take more than a few appointments to immediately change the company’s board dynamics. “Simply going from one woman to two women is going to do nothing to women’s voice or influence,” she said. | |
| During the meeting on Tuesday, several board members spent the better part of an hour addressing recommendations from a report compiled by Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, and his law firm, Covington & Burling, on the corrective actions Uber must take to repair itself. | During the meeting on Tuesday, several board members spent the better part of an hour addressing recommendations from a report compiled by Eric H. Holder Jr., the former attorney general, and his law firm, Covington & Burling, on the corrective actions Uber must take to repair itself. |
| But the difficulties of changing Uber’s culture were on display in the meeting, highlighted by Mr. Bonderman’s comments. At one point, he reminded employees of the scrutiny Uber employees would face in the world. | But the difficulties of changing Uber’s culture were on display in the meeting, highlighted by Mr. Bonderman’s comments. At one point, he reminded employees of the scrutiny Uber employees would face in the world. |
| “Each of you is responsible for the conduct of the company,” he said. | “Each of you is responsible for the conduct of the company,” he said. |