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Uber Board Member Apologizes for Sexist Remark at Meeting About Company’s Culture Uber Board Member Resigns After Sexist Remark at Meeting About Company’s Culture
(about 1 hour 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 — David Bonderman, an Uber board member and partner at private equity firm TPG, resigned from the board of the ride-hailing company after he made a disparaging remark about women at an Uber meeting on Tuesday.
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. Earlier in the day at an Uber staff meeting to discuss the company’s culture, Arianna Huffington, another board member, talked about how one woman on a board often leads to more women joining a board.
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.
“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. Attendees were aghast at the exchange, especially at a time when Uber has been trying to overcome a series of scandals over corporate misbehavior, including sexual harassment claims. The company on Tuesday released a 13-page document outlining recommendations it planned to adopt to bring more accountability to executives at Uber for their actions and to increase board oversight. Travis Kalanick, Uber’s chief executive, also said he would take a leave of absence from the company.
“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.” After the staff meeting, employees angry at Mr. Bonderman’s remarks sent numerous emails to their managers and to Liane Hornsey, Uber’s head of human resources, according to people with knowledge of the situation, who asked to remain anonymous because the details are confidential.
Mr. Bonderman quickly apologized for his remark. People close to him said his resignation from the board was swiftly decided to demonstrate to Uber employees that he wanted to adhere to the standards he spoke about in the staff meeting.
“I appreciate David doing the right thing for Uber at this time of critical cultural changes at the company,” Ms. Huffington said in a statement.
Mr. Bonderman joined Uber’s board because TPG is an investor in the ride-hailing company. For the past few months, he had been working on Uber’s culture. In a statement, he said his comment “came across in a way that was the opposite of what I intended, but I understand the destructive effect it had, and I take full responsibility for that.”
Mr. Bonderman added: “I do not want my comments to create distraction as Uber works to build a culture of which we can be proud. I need to hold myself to the same standards that we’re asking Uber to adopt. Therefore, I have decided to resign from Uber’s board of directors, effective tomorrow morning.”
Mr. Bonderman’s board seat at Uber may not be vacant for long. As a major stakeholder in Uber, TPG will most likely keep the seat and is discussing who may fill the position.
Mr. Bonderman’s original comments, according to experts, also lack merit.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. Tali Mendelberg, professor of politics at Princeton University, and Christopher Karpowitz, an associate professor of political science at Brigham Young University, conducted a study in 2012 concluding that men talked far more than women did at meetings. The professors convened 94 groups of five people and varied the number of men and women in the groups. Their study is in line with 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.”“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 gained a seat. This week Uber said another woman had been added to the board: Wan Ling Martello, the executive vice president of Nestle in South Asia.
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. In an email to employees late Tuesday about Mr. Bonderman, Mr. Kalanick wrote, “Board and management leadership is our highest priority and over the coming weeks and months we will be adding strong independent board members.”
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. But Ms. Mendelberg warned that it will take more than a few appointments to 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.
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.