Your browser is not supported. please upgrade to the latest version of Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Apple Safari or Microsoft Edge.

Uber will tie executive compensation to meeting diversity goals

By Sara Ashley O'Brien, CNN Business

07/16/2019

New York (CNN Business) -  Uber's workforce may still be mostly white men, but the company says it is taking new measures to diversify its staff, especially managerial roles. 

The newly public ride-hailing company released on Monday its latest diversity report, which included a breakdown of its US workforce by race or ethnicity and gender. White men still make up most of its staff (30.1%), a pattern that is even more evident in leadership, tech, and leadership in tech roles. Black women make up 5.3% of its overall workforce in the US, black men 4%, Hispanic women 3.7% and Hispanic men 4.6%.

For the first time, Uber is setting some diversity and inclusion goals for 2022 that will be tied to the compensation of several of its senior executives — CEO Dara Khosrowshahi, chief financial officer Nelson Chai, chief legal officer Tony West, and chief people officer Nikki Krishnamurthy. 

Uber's global headcount has grown tremendously in the past year: It had approximately 26,000 employees at the end of March 2019, up from 18,000 the year prior. This number does not include drivers, whom Uber (UBER) does not classify as employees but instead, as independent contractors. Uber had 3.9 million drivers globally at the end of 2018.

Meet the CEO taking Uber public

While adding thousands of new employees, Uber has shown some diversity gains. The percentage of women in leadership roles grew from 20.9% to 28% in the past year. The largest percentage of women in US leadership roles, though, are white. The amount women in tech leadership roles fell from 15.6% to 13.8%. 

At Lyft (LYFT), by contrast, women occupied 32.8% of all its leadership roles in 2018, but only 11.5% of tech leadership positions. The company, which also went

Uber barely moved the needle on the number of Hispanic and black employees in tech leadership jobs, according to the report. Both are at 0.8%, up from zero percent last year. 

Ahead of last year's diversity report release, Khosrowshahi told CNN Business that improving senior leadership diversity was a priority. 

Its new diversity and inclusion goals for 2022 that are tied to compensation for some senior leaders are to increase the percentage of women in managerial roles and the percentage of underrepresented people in transitional roles, which are sometimes but not always, positions that include managing others.

Read More on CNN

    Gender Equity/Diversity
    Racial Equity/Diversity

Load comments

Load older comments...

Loading comments...

Add comment

27

July 2022

BoFiNet Builds National DWDM Backbone Network with Ribbon's Advanced Solutions

20

September 2022

Fall TV Preview: 5 New Shows Worth Watching, 1 Returning Favorite You Can’t Miss

18

October 2021

What’s next for the business of longevity?

22

September 2022

How To Reverse Visible Summer Sun Damage, According To A Dermatological Nurse

13

August 2021

Selma Blair Reflects On Life With Multiple Sclerosis In New Documentary Trailer

You've Been Timed Out

Please login to continue