Susan Fowler a former Uber employee published a blog post recently that questioned the work culture at one of the most successful companies, Uber.
In the blog, Fowler described her horrific experience wherein she was subjected to sexual advanced and when she reported the offence to the HR officials, they declined to punish the offender because he was a “high performer.”
Following the incident, the CEO of Uber Travis Kalanick on 19 February ordered an “urgent investigation” into claims of sexual harassment at the ride-hailing service made by a former employee and another meeting open to all Uber employees on Tuesday, 21 February, he teared up and apologised for cultural failings at his company.
The meeting, which took place at Uber’s San Francisco headquarters, lasted for over an hour. According to a report published by Bloomberg, Kalanick at times with tears in his eyes, apologised for a lack of diversity in the company’s workforce and for not properly responding to employee complaints.
“Travis spoke very honestly about the mistakes he’s made-and about how he wants to take the events of the last 48-hours to build a better Uber,” board member Arianna Huffington wrote in a company blog post. “Change doesn’t usually happen without a catalyst. I hope that by taking the time to understand what’s gone wrong and fixing it we can not only make Uber better but also contribute to improvements for women across the industry.”
Kalanick, while addressing the crowd said that he will work towards improving as a leader. Uber has over 11,000 employees excluding the company’s drivers.
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