Embattled Uber leaps into damage control, vows to clean up sexist culture

SAN FRANCISCO — Three women in Uber's top ranks did their best Tuesday to deliver a message that executives were not only determined to rid the embattled company of sexist rot, but also remake the ride-hailing giant into a beacon of diversity and inclusion.

"Our goal isn’t just to fix things, but to make Uber the most admired workplace," Uber board member Arianna Huffington told reporters on a call that also included human resources boss Liane Hornsey and North American operations chief Rachel Holt.

Uber has long resisted releasing statistics about the diversity of its staff, but Huffington said the first such report will be released by the end of the month.

Huffington added that Uber's ongoing internal probe looking into ex-engineer Susan Fowler's accusations of discrimination against female employees will be made public when it concludes in late April. The probe is relying in part on tip-lines where employees can relate their tales anonymously, she said.

Hornsey said that she has been consulting often with Uber investors and diversity advocates Mitch Kapor and Freada Kapor Klein. "They're the experts in this area," she said.

The Kapors wrote a scathing open letter to Uber CEO Travis Kalanick after Fowler went public with her experiences at Uber, calling the culture "toxic" and noting in particular that Kalanick never showed any interest to them in diversity issues.

Hornsey said Uber will begin requiring employees to undergo diversity training, which is by now a fairly common practice at tech companies looking to be less white and male.

"Training is not a panacea, but it will set the standard we need," she said. "The cult of the individual will not ever be more important than the team."

Kalanick has faced criticism from some of his 11,000 employees, and vowed at one staff meeting to "grow up" and seek leadership help. Uber is currently on the hunt for a chief operating officer who would be "a partner to Travis," said Huffington.

The women did not get specific on the status of the COO search, saying only that the company was attracting "world-class leaders" and that investor Bill Gurley was helping oversee the hunt along with search firm Heidrick & Struggles.

Whether Uber's so-called "baller" culture that valued extreme aggressiveness in pursuing the company's disruptive goals can be replaced with a collaborative feel-good culture remains to be seen.

Some of that frat-house vibe emanated from co-founder Kalanick himself, who over the years has been quoted making comments that reflected a brash immaturity. But the executives said Kalanick is a new man after the scandals.

"I've only been here 11 weeks, but almost week by week I have seem him changing," said Hornsey, who previously worked at Google. "What’s happened (at Uber) has caused personal change. I think Travis will be hugely collaborative going forward."

Huffington repeatedly said on the call that Uber's board never considered asking Kalanick to step down.

Since Uber's scandals hit about a month ago, the once high-flying company has seen riders start #DeleteUber campaign, high-ranking employees depart and self-driving car rival Waymo file suit claiming Uber's tech is based on stolen intellectual property.

Holt painted the brightest picture of the three, noting that ridership numbers in the first 10 weeks of Uber's dark 2017 have eclipsed those of early 2016. But she did not provide any figures or details. The $68 billion ride hailing company remains private, and some industry experts have questioned its path to profitability as it eyes an eventual public offering.

Drivers have been vocal since Uber's 2009 inception about unfair treatment, which ranges from not being considered employees to being denied tips from riders unlike rival Lyft.

Holt said that the company would begin taking a closer look at its relationship with drivers; that had been the role of Uber president Jeff Jones, but he abruptly quit on Sunday citing his issues with Uber's leadership. Kalanick told employees in a memo that Jones left because he wasn't being considered for the number two position.

Among the practices that will change, said Holt, are the ways in which drivers are suspended from the platform if they receive negative reviews from riders.

"We know we need to bring more humanity to the way we interact with drivers," she said, adding that riders with three complaints but with tens of thousands of trips will be treated differently than a driver who has similar complaints but only a handful of trips. The current system "is unacceptable and being fixed."

Uber's call-in attempt to take control of an incessantly negative news cycle met with some skepticism. A number of reporters questioned whether Kalanick or another high-ranking male executive should also have been on the call.

"Travis would have liked to be here, but he's interviewing COOs," Hornsey responded. "He’s learning to delegate too."

Huffington also batted away the accusation that the call had a promotional backstory.

"Women are helping with the COO search," she said. Then, referencing her colleagues she added, "It’s not like we got these people from central casting. Rachel runs U.S. and Canadian operations, Liane is our head of HR. It’s a really good sign of how women are valued at highest levels at Uber."

Huffington, who on Monday went on CNN to defend Uber and Kalanick, noted that her Uber makeover mission struck a chord.

"I want to say, this is personal for me," she said. "I have two daughters, and I want to make sure the company we build reflects the best of anything in the workplace, so no woman has to choose between advancing her career and completely unacceptable treatment."

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